Whether you’re still in education or have regularly scheduled professional duties, summer is a shining light of hope at the end of a post-winter tunnel. It’s an internationally recognized time for getting some time off and doing things you have no time, or worse: no energy to do because of classes and homework or the soul-draining 9-to-5 job and the general adult obligations.
No more! You have some time off for yourself… what now?
As far as some recreation goes, there are a few great directions you could explore.
Active rest
One option is perhaps the healthiest one, at least as long as you stay hydrated and avoid getting a heatstroke.
Devoting some time to physical activity is always a good idea, especially now that you have some time to burn. It can, but doesn’t have to! mean sports, mind you. There are plenty of other options to pursue if you want to get a little bit more limber and little less winded.
Even just going for a daily leisure walk can make a difference, especially if you typically spend most days inside or worse: sitting down. A comfortably brisk walk can just as easily wake you up in the morning as it can relieve some tension in the evening so that it’s easier to fall asleep. Depending on your location, you might also be able to go on a nature hike, which has the added benefit of giving you some fresh air untainted by city contamination.
There are, of course, also many more intense ways to spend time outside, like cycling or swimming, which take a lot more effort and need a better plan than just putting on the shoes and leaving. However, the health benefits are much bigger.
Not all options even require you to leave your cozy, air-conditioned home. With the extra hours added to your daily schedule you could finally check out yoga or establish a routine of more traditional home workouts. However you choose to slice that pie, stretching never goes to waste, and workouts rarely go to waist. Unless you focus on your core, of course.
Work your mind out
The body is important, but the mind needs some attention too, and the extra time during a summer break can be spent doing some mental relaxation and low-stakes activities.
On the first front, you could solve a jigsaw puzzle, getting three benefits for the price of one. It’s one of the best hobbies if you want to do something slow, methodical, with a clear sense of progress. It’s also very relaxing to steadily put a picture together, unless you misplace a piece and can’t find it for an hour. And here’s the best bit: you get something nice out of the whole endeavor! Perhaps even worth securing, framing, and putting on your wall! In the same vein, assembling models of planes or ships, or painting miniature figures can be amazing stress-relievers as well.
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If you have luck and your friends’ free time sync up with yours, you might also finally open that board game one of you bought half a year before and never got to try.
The pile of shame
Yet another alternative, perfect for people who already have an interest in gaming, is the perfect opportunity to get your backlog under control, perhaps finally finishing the game you started over the previous break, or starting the latest hit you’ve been waiting to enjoy in peace. You might want to wait for the evening, however, or your machine might overheat if you play during a heat wave, and drinking water won’t cool it off the way it would help you.
True, it might be less social or active than other options on the list, but there is a way to have your cake and eat it.
Virtual worlds, real activities
Although video games are typically enjoyed from the cozy nook in a couch or a comfy chair, there are many games which encourage much more activity.
The time-tested dance games like Dance Dance Revolution are an easy example. Dance mats take only a bit of floor space to set up, but trying to perfect even a relatively tame track can be a great cardio. And who knows, maybe in your drive to perfection you’ll figure out some cool dance moves, because it’s easier to score higher this way.
Another great workoutainment (the name is still a work in progress) is the incredible Beat Saber, a game which requires a VR headset and turns you into a glowstick Jedi slicing at blocks flying at your face to the rhythm of original and licensed tunes. If you’d like to give your arms some action, it’s a perfect way, as it takes reflexes, precision, and speed. Some tracks will even force you to lean or crouch to avoid obstacles, for extra workout.
There are even video games which are specifically dedicated to sports. The all-time classics Wii Fit and Wii Sports are great examples, and many still consider then the best video games for a gaming workout. Unfortunately, Wii has been discontinued for a long, long time, but Nintendo Switch offers Ring Fit and Switch Sports as worthy replacements.
More than reality
There’s also some attention to be given to Augmented Reality video games, most of which require a smartphone. The iconic title for this is Pokémon GO, currently in the seventh year of its existence. It uses the cute Pocket Monsters to tease players out of their homes to find and capture the magical creatures, or face challenges in gyms.
The appeal of finding a(n) [insert your favourite Pokemon] near [insert your favourite place in town] and snapping a picture to prove it is hard to overstate, even if PoGO’s endgame can feel prohibitive. There’s even a social aspect involved, because certain raids require groups of players to sync up and work together to defeat especially powerful ‘mons.
Perfectly balanced
Balance is important, and the few days of summer you are in control of your schedule are a great opportunity to find it. With some planning and schedule-tweaking, you could kill three birds with just a few stones.
- find a comfortable healthy routine to stay healthy and relieve accumulated physical stress
- socialize and shift gears for your brain
- get some quality gaming time in
Each of these is great on its own, but when you blend them together, magic can happen!
Get your Summer-Gamer bod on
This concludes our small list of ideas of what you can do to improve your summertime chilling out. Gaming in the summer can be active and exciting, and incorporated into healthy routines you might already have going on, a perfect blend of great things to do when bored or stressed!
As the 2023 summer season is about to kick off for good, it’s a perfect time to get prepared for a great and active way to spend the time off without feeling the need to travel. There are, after all, plenty of new and constructive activities to enjoy on home turf.