Does Chess = Stress?
Does Chess = Stress?
Welcome to the Twin Cats Blog, your blog spot for random chess posts. This topic includes research on the question: Does Chess = Stress?
To find the answer, I conducted some research. I soon found a trustworthy article that states the benefits of playing chess, along with the downsides.
The Mental Side of Chess
The first big point out was how chess can affect your mental health. The article stated that when playing in competitive situations, research showed chess players had different sleeping patterns occurring, many of which harmed how they played, and their overall mental state.
Another group of researchers analyzed the heart rate variability in chess players. Heart rate variability is, and I quote, “an indicator of increased sympathetic nervous system activity and stress.” The result of the research was that in more experienced and skilled players, heart rate variability did not have a significant change, even when the challenges given were tougher. The research also found that less experienced, chess beginners had a drastic drop in heart rate variability. Researchers think this change is related to increased stress from the cognitive challenge of the chess problems.
Though the rest of the article was compelling, it didn’t include further information on stress, so I might make another topic later on other subjects within the article. I also found the statement, “If you’re considering chess as a hobby, you should know that it can be time-consuming and stressful, especially if you plan to master the game or compete in tournaments. Whether these drawbacks outweigh the potential cognitive health benefits is something you’ll have to determine for yourself.” The takeaway is that playing chess can definitely cause stress, but this happens most commonly when playing competitively, and whilest learning the game. Still, other people find chess relaxing and use it to reduce stress, of which you can do too.
Conclusion
My advice after research would be: to avoid inducing stress while playing chess, don’t play competitive chess within an hour of you waking up or falling asleep. This will let your body get the proper rest it needs, and you will most likely be stress free. One way to remove stress is hiding your elo to yourself. Elo/rating points are a trigger for me, and are the main reason I get stressed from playing the game. So what’s your input? Do you think the game causes stress? Or is it our habits and how we act to blame?
