So for the first time in well over a year I'm a free man all weekend long with no kids and wife in the house. Since I work 4 10s this also means I have a full 3 day weekend. Incidentally, I've grown increasing active in streaming my Dwarf Fortress hobby (yes I run stonesense in the stream so mortals can understand what i'm doing). So I decided a while back that this will be the weekend I attempt a 24-hour dwarf fortress gaming marathon on Twitch. Being the computer nerd/researcher I am, I decided to read around and realized there's actually some pretty serious health concerns involved with this. The biggest thing I've read is that I should take a 10 minute break every hour to keep my heart/veins from imploding. Is there any suggestions for food/snacks/drinks that will help reduce the chance of dying while doing this?

I originally planned on getting a few 5 hour energy drinks, but I think instead a 6-pack of Gatorade and water may be a better choice.

stay away from the caffeine as it will just make you crash eventually and feel like utter garbage

I would recommend standing up every now and then for circulation in your lower half

For snacks I recommend goldfish as they are my favorite :)

Other than that good luck and have fun

I read a while ago in the Nexus forums that the fiancee of a modder died after playing for 11 hours. A blood clot formed in his leg and two hours later she was dead.

Brilliant. I think I will do a gaming marathon sometime this summer. I have been working nonstop for too long.

Hello,

I would like to say that I may be new here but this attracted my eye right away. I can't relate job wise and not having enough time because I make money without leaving my home. Anyways, I normally spend on average 13-15 hours a day on my computer everyday for the past couple years. I take many breaks thought the day though. I walk away from my computer 3-5 times a day to get food, 5-8 times for a cup of ice tea and at least 10 times a day to go outside to smoke a cigarette. I will say that within these few years of living this way I have yet to have any health issues at all. On a occasion if I am really motivated once a month I will pull a 72 hour marathon on my computer playing a game but like said before i get up for food, drinks, bathroom and smoke breaks.

Other than gaining some weight(No I am not fat I will admit though I have went from 151 pounds to 219 pounds in a couple years) I have no health issues.

As far as food, I normally eat hot pockets, Tv Dinners and ramen. I snack on some chips here and there. I drink a cup of coffee every morning and drink ice tea and energy drinks through out the day.

I hope this help and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

I read a while ago in the Nexus forums that the fiancee of a modder died after playing for 11 hours. A blood clot formed in his leg and two hours later she was dead.

That was most likely connected with another issue.

If you're not able to sit still for 11 hours without dying, something has to be wrong with you.

In today's world, A LOT of people sit still for up to 20+ hours gaming or doing some type of work.

Of course you have to go to the bathroom, drink a lot and maybe stretch once in a while, but you shouldn't DIE by sitting still for 11 hours.

I bet the woman who did this sat in a VERY odd position and didn't move at all for 11 hours. Even then it's weird!

Also, I agree with Cyberbeastx. That's kind of the point I wanted to get across actually.

Personally, I'd schedule a 2-mile walk, or a 1 mile jog in the middle of your playing schedule. Take your dog with you, if you have one.

I read a while ago in the Nexus forums that the fiancee of a modder died after playing for 11 hours. A blood clot formed in his leg and two hours later she was dead.

Of course you have to go to the bathroom, drink a lot and maybe stretch once in a while, but you shouldn't DIE by sitting still for 11 hours.

I bet the woman who did this sat in a VERY odd position and didn't move at all for 11 hours. Even then it's weird!

Sounds like murder to me.

"I read a while ago in the Nexus forums that the fiancee of a modder died after playing for 11 hours. A blood clot formed in his leg and two hours later she was dead."

Very suspicious that she died, after he played for 11 hours. Doubly suspicious that she died two hours after a blood clot formed in his leg.

I mean, isn't that taking sympathetic pain to new levels?

but you shouldn't DIE by sitting still for 11 hours.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Inactivity and immobilization, as with orthopedic casts,[19]sitting, travel, bed rest, and hospitalization.

A few years ago this became somewhat sensationalised as media cottoned onto long distance flights being one way to acquire it.

Sitting will kill you

And the best article I know of that you should read for basic advice

The 48 hour marathon

Any health concerns from this kind of thing are probably the kind that build up over time like repetitive stress injuries unless you spike your body with grams of caffeine. Sitting down for 24 hours is not a massive health risk.

I agree with the suggestions above, like take breaks every hour (at least two minutes, so you can rest your eyes by focusing on objects at varying distances). Movement is also good. If you want more gaming in your marathon session it might be fun to do a variation on Turing chess, especially since DF will progress in real time. Make sure to stretch your arms, wrists, and fingers at regular intervals and don't go straight from sitting to a strenuous activity without warming up a bit.

Avoid caffeine; in high doses it can have pretty negative effects. In any dose it will dehydrate you, which along with sitting and repetitive motion can give you muscle cramps and spasms. It can also exacerbate any heart or circulatory troubles you might have, even if you aren't currently aware of any. The same is true of energy drinks Gatorade isn't much better than any other sugary drink if you're not sweating for >30 minutes, but won't hurt you.

For food, go easy on salty items and be careful not to overeat.

Any health concerns from this kind of thing are probably the kind that build up over time like repetitive stress injuries unless you spike your body with grams of caffeine. Sitting down for 24 hours is not a massive health risk.

I agree with the suggestions above, like take breaks every hour (at least two minutes, so you can rest your eyes by focusing on objects at varying distances). Movement is also good. If you want more gaming in your marathon session it might be fun to do a variation on Turing chess, especially since DF will progress in real time. Make sure to stretch your arms, wrists, and fingers at regular intervals and don't go straight from sitting to a strenuous activity without warming up a bit.

Avoid caffeine; in high doses it can have pretty negative effects. In any dose it will dehydrate you, which along with sitting and repetitive motion can give you muscle cramps and spasms. It can also exacerbate any heart or circulatory troubles you might have, even if you aren't currently aware of any. The same is true of energy drinks Gatorade isn't much better than any other sugary drink if you're not sweating for >30 minutes, but won't hurt you.

For food, go easy on salty items and be careful not to overeat.

Thanks, now I'm not so worried. I think my best bet is to get some in-place jogging and running in during my short per-hour breaks. With DF I can typically leave it running anyway as it'l pause on a major event. Going to be hard to lay off the caffeine though, I may mix it up with some water. And for food I'm just going to make some turkey sandwiches and some goldfish :)

With so much media sensationalism it's hard to separate fact from news sometimes.