Half of remote workers feel vulnerable to growing cyberattacks

A survey carried out amongst UK employees working remotely due to the Covid-19 crisis shows that 42% have received suspicious emails and 18% have had to tackle an actual security breach since lockdown began five weeks ago. In addition to…

Gaming & Tech Features

Gaming App installations Increases Up to 132 Percent

In the last week of March, 132% more gaming apps were installed than in the same period last year. This growth is due to the Corona crisis, as can be seen in a new infographic on Kryptoszene.de. This means that…

Mobile Gaming News

Top 5 US Google Play Games Hit Almost $140 Million in Revenue in March

Mobile games and their ever-growing player base continue generating huge profits in the leading app stores. According to data gathered by GoldenCasinoNews, the top five Google Play games in the United States hit almost $140 million in revenue in March.…

Gaming & Tech Features

Helsinki virtual May Day concert

On Thursday 30th April, The City of Helsinki is celebrating its annual May Day holiday by inviting citizens to participate in a virtual celebration with one of the country’s popular artists. Powered by the city’s Virtual Helsinki digital twin, Fullsteam…

Games News UK

Games for Carers, to thank our frontline NHS heroes

The Latest Update – Giveaway is live AGAIN…. how long for this time who knows, we have asked about certain emails not working on their twitter feed for you. The UK games industry has launched a major initiative, Games for…

Gaming & Tech Features

How to Take Your Business Forward In 2020

It is always important to consider the big picture in the running of a business, so it is helpful to know a few of the best ways that you can take the company forward. As a business leader, you do…

Gaming & Tech Features

Online Gaming Traffic in the US Jumped 75%

With coronavirus lockdown rules in place and millions of Americans advised to stay at home, online engagement in the United States has increased dramatically in March. One of the most common at-home media activities in the United States last month…

Gaming & Tech Features

War Child UK appoints new Head of Gaming Partnerships

War Child UK has announced that games industry veteran David Miller has been appointed as its Head of Gaming Partnerships. Miller joins the charity from marketing agency Shedd, bringing with him over two decades of experience garnered in the video…

Gaming & Tech Features

6 Highly Effective Ways to Market Your Franchise Business

Running a big company can be messy, let alone if you have a franchise business. While your franchise can generate a lot of profit, it still needs a strong marketing campaign to thrive. You cannot just ignore the importance of…

, has been reported to have earned a total of $6.9 million. So it comes as no surprise that more people desire to become a professional eSport athlete. With this comes an increased interest in gaming hardware and performance enhancing drinks and supplements. But do energy drinks and nootropics really improve gaming performance? The above question is exactly what we’ll be answering in this article… What Are Nootropics? Everyone knows what energy drinks are (eg. Red Bull, Monster etc), so we’ll jump straight to Nootropics. In a nutshell, nootropics are classed as supplements that have shown to improve your cognition in clinical studies. Herbs such as Bacopa Monnieri and Lion’s Mane Mushroom are 2 popular ingredients that are widely accepted as being ‘nootropics’. As well as individual ingredients, “all-in-one” nootropic stack supplements have become very popular too. You’ll see many that are classed as the best nootropics in the UK, which basically contain several nootropic ingredients (such as Lion’s Mane Mushroom) in convenient capsules – making them easier to consume than taking several individual pills. *image from: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-typing-on-computer-keyboard-735911/ Energy Drinks & Nootropics for Gaming Performance The term “cognition” encompasses many things including memory, focus & concentration, reaction time and attention span. So you can see why many have started to test nootropic ingredients and supplements in an attempt to improve their gaming performance. But do nootropics really help take your eSport performance to the next level? The answer is: most likely. Of course, it’s difficult to say for 100% certain without any clinical studies taking place involving eSport athletes and nootropics. There are a number of eSport athletes that have endorsed energy drink/nootropic hybrid supplements such as GFuel. FaZe Clan has their own GFuel product called “FaZe Clan’s Battle Juice” for example, and we’d like to believe that the group actually consumes the stuff that they recommend to his followers. Nootropics and Reaction Time Reaction time is one of the things that eSport athletes will be interested in improving. Even casual gamers who enjoy some Call of Duty on the weekends with friends will want to be the first to pull the trigger too. The good news is that many nootropic ingredients have been shown to enhance reaction times in clinical studies. One study by Bettini R in 2002 found that Citicoline supplementation significantly improved reaction times in the subjects involved – with results being even better when subjects doubled up on the Citicoline dosage, without experiencing any side effects. Nootropics in High Stress Situations While there haven’t been any clinical studies utilising eSport athletes in particular, there have been studies studying the effects of nootropics on the performance of military combat training courses. In the study, conducted by Deijen JB, L-Tyrosine was used as the ‘nootropic’ ingredient of choice. The military subjects consumed dosages of 2g L-Tyrosine daily over the course of 1 week. They were then assessed before and after the combat course they were tasked with undergoing. Ultimately, the study concluded that L-Tyrosine was able to reduce the effects of stress and fatigue on cognitive task performance. These benefits would easily crossover from combat training courses to elite eSport competitions where the stakes are high. *image from: https://www.pexels.com/photo/soldier-in-camouflage-shirt-163347/ The Soviet Union tried to keep a nootropic herb a secret… If you’re not already convinced of the benefits that nootropics can provide, this one might do the job. It was found that the Soviet Union were using Rhodiola Rosea long before they were testing with steroids, in order to keep their Olympians, soldiers and astronauts performing at peak levels. It was found that Rhodiola Rosea helped soldiers stay alert and energized during sleep deprivation tests, which might appeal to gamers who love to stay up into the early hours of the morning. To Conclude We’re not psychiatrists or doctors, so we can’t give the final answer to the question: “do energy drinks and nootropics improve gaming performance?”. However, based on our research looking at various clinical studies assessing the effects of nootropics on reaction time and overall cognition, the results appear very promising. Just keep your expectations level. If you’re nowhere near the level expected to compete against in eSport competitions, then simply taking some nootropics probably won’t help you become a world champion. Even so, casual gamers might enjoy having the ‘edge’ against their friends; everyone knows that there is always pride and dignity on the line even in ‘casual’ situations. For competitive eSport athletes, with an increasing amount of money on the line for winning tournaments (with prize pools being over $50 million at times), it makes sense to try and gain every competitive edge possible in order to win.

Gaming & Tech Features

Do Energy Drinks and Nootropics Really Improve Gaming Performance?

It’s great that eSports athletes are getting the recognition they deserve in recent years. No longer are they being questioned over being given the title of ‘athletes’, with the viewing figures for eSport increasing significantly (at an average growth rate…