I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
Is sim racing healthy?
And how do I actually keep myself healthy as a sim driver?
Table of Contents
- There are two different ways to look at sim racing
- My opinion on this?
- Sim racing lifestyle tips
- 1. Get a good night’s sleep every day
- 2. Eat a balanced diet
- 3. Drink plenty of water
- 4. Train at the gym or go running outside
- 5. 3 – 4 hours max of driving a day
- 6. Take a 10 minutes break after 60 minutes of driving
- Is sim racing good exercise?
- Is racing good for the brain?
- Time to wrap up:
- Sim Racing Related Articles
There are two different ways to look at sim racing
The brighter side
On one hand, sim racing is a great way to get some exercise. You can burn a lot of calories playing a
On one hand, sim racing is amazing because it allows us to drive cars we can only dream of owning in real life.
It gives you the feeling and the atmosphere of a real race and you can actually improve your driving a lot by practicing and improving yourself.
Many will also argue and say that all those extra calories burnt and reaction times developed add up in a positive way.
Thus arguing that sim racing is a great way to keep fit, just like going to the gym or something like that.
The more skeptical side
But on the other hand, is spending all our time driving around virtual tracks staring at screens all day bad for us?
Some people say that sim racing can be addictive and that can cause people to overlook their lifestyle as well as their health an diet.
They also point out that staring at screens all day could potentially harm our eyesight especially if driving all day long.
And that it will reduce the chance of having a more balanced social life by building friendships and family relationships.
My opinion on this?
I know that sounds cliche, but I feel like the truth is in the middle.
But don’t get me wrong, I don’t think sim racing is bad, on the contrary I love it.
But one thing I’ve seen more and more in the last few years is how people can get addicted to it.
I think that if you’re able to take a break from sim racing every once in a while and go outside for a walk or some jogging, then it’s perfectly healthy.
But if you’re the kind of person that spends all day long driving around looking for that last online race to take part at midnight, then I think that might be a problem.
But hey, I know how tough it is competing at the highest level in any sport, including sim racing.
I gave my everything in 2013 when I won the CIK-FIA World Championship against drivers like Norris, Ticktum, Daruvala, Mazepin ans Mick Schumacher.
But in order to do that, I had to completely sacrifice my social life.
And I still think it was worth it, because it gave me the chance to achieve something I had always dreamed about.
So I know how hard it is to become the #1 at anything and how much you’ll need to practice and sacrifice for that.
Especially for sim racing, where you might be competing with thousands and thousands of drivers across the whole world.
Sim racing lifestyle tips
So how can we stay in shape while shooting at our sim racing dream?
Here are some things I suggest if you want to stay healthy while sim racing:
1. Get a good night’s sleep every day
First things first, you need to get a good night’s sleep every day.
You can’t expect to be at your best if you’re tired all the time.
That applies to anything, including work.
Sacrificing your sleep is never a good choice unless there’s some kind of emergency and we need to be up at night.
Most doctors and sleep scientistsadvise you to shoot for 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night depeending on your age, lifestyle and other factors.
So make sure you’re getting enough sleep and stick to a regular sleep schedule as much as possible.
2. Eat a balanced diet
Next we want to make sure that we’re eating a balanced diet.
If you’ve got plans to stay fit and healthy, then I recommend eating plenty of fruits and vegetables at least twice a day.
Now, I’m not a nutritionist whatsoever but I know for a fact that eating a balanced diet is one of the best things you can do for your body as well as for your racing endeavors.
3. Drink plenty of water
This one is also very important.
Make sure you drink plenty of water every day.
Dehydration can have a lot of negative effects on our health and our performance, so make sure you’re drinking enough water on a daily basis.
Especially considering how much you’re sweating while driving in those hot and long sim racing sessions.
4. Train at the gym or go running outside
Next you want to make sure you’re getting some exercise every day.
To do so, you have plenty of options. You can go to the gym or even do some jogging outside.
Even a walk in the park can help.
Personally, I’ve always preferred running outside because it gives me a chance to spend some time alone thinking about what’s going on in my life and ways to improve myself.
5. 3 – 4 hours max of driving a day
Okay, I know this might be strict but I think you need to consider it.
I know some people who have been sim racing for more than 10 hours a day and I don’t think that that’s healthy at all.
It can’t be healthy for your eyes and it certainly won’t help you drive better after so long, considering how tired you’d probably be.
Try to stick to 3 – 4 hours of driving a day, at the most.
6. Take a 10 minutes break after 60 minutes of driving
Last but not least, I think it’s important that you take a small break after every hour of driving.
It’s a great way to renew your energy and refresh your mind before going back behind the wheel again.
I usually drink a bottle of water and eat something light during my break, but you can do whatever you feel like.
Is sim racing good exercise?
Of course it is, though you can’t really compare it to a run in the park or swimming.
Sim racing is a great form of exercise because it’s very demanding and it requires a lot of focus.
It’s also great for improving your reflexes as well as your concentration.
Though I feel it won’t really boost your stamina and endurance fitness as well as body strength.
Despite that I feel that is such a great way of staying in shape for any professional or beginner racing driver.
So keep up the good work and tell me about your favorite ways of staying healthy while sim racing! 😉
Is racing good for the brain?
I’m not a doctor and I would probably need to make some further research before saying this, but by applying common sense, I would say that sim racing is fine unless you overdo it.
Racing for 3 – 4 hours a day would be fine and actually could improve your reaction times and pattern recognition but anything over that would perhaps be too much.
On the positive side though, high-speed racing with fierce competition several times each week can make you tougher and more resilient to deal with high-pressure situations.
I would say that sim racing is a great way for you to keep your brain sharp and alert as long as you don’t over do it.
But hey, don’t quote me for that. Make sure you ask advice from a doctor instead.
Time to wrap up:
So these are some of the things I think you should keep in mind if you want to stay healthy while sim racing.
Remember that it’s important to get a good night’s sleep, eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of water and exercise regularly.
Try to stick to 3 – 4 hours of sim racing a day to make sure you’re not pushing your body too hard and take some breaks every now and then.
I hope you found this article helpful and I’ll see you on the track!
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