Just wanted to see what people's opinion was on the relation between gaming and acne.

For starters, i'd like to address one of the responses i've seen around the topic.

"I don't play video games and have acne, my friend plays all the time and has none."

--- I think most people will agree that everyones body works in different ways. Some people get acne from junk food, others do not, some people can fix their acne with Vitamin D exposure, and for others it does nothing - the 'regimen' on this site works for some but aggravates the skin of others. We are all different, so because you've seen first hand evidence contradicting the cause/treatment doesn't mean that it's therefore invalid.

The next assumption i've seen is that video games may cause acne due to the lifestyle around them. For example - sitting down for long periods of time resulting in less exercise and circulation, or the dietary habits that often coincide with gaming... energy drinks / sugary snacks / junk food. Although I feel these are both factors involved, I don't think that they're the end of the story.

When I refer to gaming, i'm not talking about Sims, or MMO games like WoW etc. i'm talking about high intensity FPS (COD, Battlefield, CounterStrike) or even higher intensity online strategy games (LoL, Dota). In order to play at a high level, these games require absolute maximum concentration and reflexes - be it head-shotting the opposition before they kill you first, or dodging projectiles that might hit you. Adrenaline starts buzzing round your body and your breathing gets irregular, and in order to function optimally, the body activates the sympathetic nervous system. For those that don't know - this is the scientific name for your 'fight or flight' response. The body shuts down all 'non-essential' systems in order to maximise mental and muscular performance - we've evolved to do this in the hope of out-running the bear that would otherwise rip us to shreds or to fend off a rival tribe member etc.

If you're participating in intense gaming for a few hours after school or for long stints at the weekend, this keeps your body in a FoF (fight or flight) state for pretty serious amounts of time. As well as shutting down stomach function which is key to digestion (there are a lot of sources out there linking digestive disorders to acne) activation of the sympathetic nervous system also increases the secretion of insulin and cortisol - two chemicals which have also been heavily linked with acne.

The argument around sports is tricky, because I know that exercise is often encouraged in the treatment of acne despite some activities also activating the sympathetic nervous system. Personally, I would say that exercise helps the body to address conditions that may lead to acne (e.g. sweating out toxins / pumping the lymphatic system) in ways that sitting still in a chair gaming does not. Also, the increase in cortisol and insulin in bodybuilders is often the attributed factor in the development of acne in weightlifters.

By all means, i'm not saying 'intense gaming causes acne', I do however believe that intense gaming creates an internal environment that could encourage the development of acne. Personally I notice that my skin gets worse and at very least more inflamed after gaming. I'd be really interested in hearing from anyone who has also noticed an increase in their acne or proliferation of IBS symptoms etc. after taking up gaming.

TL;DR - Intense gaming activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) which in turn creates the ideal conditions in the body for acne to develop - through increase in insulin and cortisol, and decrease in digestive function.