Drinking and Gaming: Does Alcohol Improve or Hurt Your Focus?

The Importance of Focus in Gaming

In video games, focus is everything. What video games lack in physical activity, they make up for in mental agility. Whether we’re strategizing our next move, reacting to an enemy attack, or solving complex puzzles, sharp focus can make the difference between victory and defeat in a video game. 

Quick reactions, split-second decision making, and the ability to adapt to changing situations all require high levels of concentration. Losing focus, even for a moment, can cause missed opportunities that lead to a frustrating loss. Maintaining mental clarity ensures that we’re at the top of our game. However, this focus can be compromised by external factors, including alcohol. 

Drinking and Focus While Gaming: Exploring Alcohol’s Effects

Alcohol and gaming are no strangers to one another. Whether it’s to unwind after a long day, celebrate a hard-earned victory, or help a casual gaming session feel more social, alcohol often finds its way into the gaming world. While this might not sound like a big deal at first, it can turn a fun gaming session into a frustrating ordeal. The reason:  alcohol affects our focus.

• Brainpower breakdown. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it slows things down. Its effects on our central nervous system (CNS) — our body’s control system — impair our cognitive functions, decreasing attention and impacting memory. When we drink, our ability to process information quickly and accurately diminishes. Apart from gaming, this processing diminishment may look like struggling to remember details from a conversation or completing a task efficiently. When we’re playing video games, this cognitive impact makes it difficult for us to keep track of different game elements and respond effectively to in-game challenges. 
• Reduced reflexes. The slowed messaging in our brain also impacts the signals our brain sends to our body. This impact leads to delayed reaction times. In many video games, slower reflexes are a significant disadvantage. 
• Strategy slipups. Alcohol impacts our judgment and decision-making skills because the normal processing that occurs before we act is compromised. In games, our impaired judgment can make it difficult to assess situations adequately or plan our next move. This can lead to poor choices and strategic errors that end in defeat. 
• Coordination crashes. Have you ever accidentally knocked something over while intoxicated or felt like you couldn’t walk in a straight line? Our brain signals — impacted by alcohol — also communicate with our muscles. So when we’re playing video games, it becomes harder for us to synchronize our actions with what we’re seeing on the screen. In other words, that hand-eye coordination we rely on won’t be working as well!
• Decreased concentration. Alcohol reduces our attention span by disrupting the activity of our brain’s chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. Specifically, alcohol increases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which slows down neural activity, making it more difficult to maintain focus. Alcohol has the opposite effect on glutamate, which is involved in learning and memory. It decreases glutamate’s normal activity, making it more difficult to concentrate and process information. 

These effects demonstrate how alcohol can negatively impact our gaming performance and, as a result, our mood. Beyond those negative effects, alcohol and gaming aren’t a winning duo for other reasons. Let’s understand why.

Alcohol and Gaming: A Losing Pair

When we’re playing video games, the ultimate goal is often to win. Alcohol not only makes this more difficult, but it can also introduce other unwanted consequences. Here are some of them:

• Risk of injury. Playing video games doesn’t always involve physical activity, but alcohol’s impact on our motor skills and coordination can still lead to accidents. We can trip or knock over things around us, especially if we’re using virtual reality or motion-controlled equipment.
• Social tension. Drinking can lead to heightened emotions, and during high-stress environments when everyone is trying to win, this response can lead to conflicts with other players. 
• Neglected responsibilities. It’s easy to lose track of time when we’re drinking. Not surprisingly then, we could start neglecting our responsibilities, such as work, school, family commitments, or even basic needs like sleep. 
• Health implications. Long gaming sessions can lead to poor posture, lack of physical activity, and more. Alcohol can exacerbate these problems plus add its own set of health issues into the mix.
• Dehydration. Alcohol causes dehydration, resulting in physical discomfort and diminished energy levels. When dehydration is combined with long gaming sessions, we can experience such symptoms as headache and fatigue. 
• Memory issues. Drinking impairs our ability to recall important details. In games where strategy is important, memory lapses can make or break our victory. 

The reality is that alcohol can undermine both our performance and our enjoyment of gaming. But there’s even more. Over time, the effects of alcohol and gaming extend beyond immediate gameplay and well-being.

How Alcohol Affects Gamers Over Time

The combination of alcohol and gaming can lead to a dangerous cycle that increases the risk of dependence on both. When drinking becomes a regular part of our gaming sessions, it can reinforce a habit where one activity triggers the other, making it harder to separate them and stop.

Video games are often used as an escape or source of pleasure. When we drink, alcohol releases “feel-good” hormones such as serotonin and dopamine, adding to that sense of pleasure. This feeling can keep us coming back for more. However, we can build up tolerance for alcohol over time, which means we’ll need to drink more and more to reach that same level of pleasure.

This cycle can amp up our alcohol consumption, and, if our consumption is tied to gaming, it can lead to increased dependence on gaming as well. Recognizing and addressing these risks is crucial for maintaining our health.

Now that we’ve addressed focus and alcohol while gaming and how alcohol affects gamers, let’s get into the zone with some alternatives.

Alternatives To Get in the Gaming Zone

When it comes to getting in the gaming zone, alcohol can take away from the experience. However, there are plenty of fun and effective alternatives:

• Get cool lighting. Set the mood with some ambient or RGB lighting to enhance the gaming experience. 
• Opt for non-alcoholic drinks. Enjoy flavorful options such as mocktails or sparkling water that won’t impact your focus or reflexes. Or try non-alcoholic beer for that “cracking open a cold one while gaming” experience without the risk!
• Maintain balance. Spend some time outside for some fresh air and participate in regular physical activity to maintain a healthy balance. Try setting an alarm to remind yourself to get up and stretch every now and then.
• Try caffeine instead. Go for a natural energy boost with drinks like green tea or matcha. Just don’t overdo it on the caffeine!
• Listen to music. Create a custom playlist with your favorite tracks to get into the zone.

With these strategies in place, you can level up our gaming session in a fun, focused, and balanced way. 

The Final Verdict

While alcohol might seem like a fun addition to a gaming session, it often does more harm than good, whether to our focus, performance, or well-being. From slower reaction times to impaired decision making, the drawbacks of drinking while gaming far outweigh any fleeting benefits we may perceive. So, the next time you’re gearing up for a game, swap the alcoholic drink for a tasty alternative. Your high scores will thank you!