Thread by @IAmSp00n

Something weird happened last night, and I wanna post about it.

While I was taking a stretch break, one of my viewers said, "this streamer takes the longest breaks out of every Twitch streamer."

I came back shortly after, read it, and decided to educate my audience.

I recently (in the past half year or so) started taking regular stretch breaks every 1 and a half to two hours. I stretch my hands and wrists, my back and legs, and often look at distant objects out a window instead of a screen to rest my eyes. This has caused drastic changes.

I feel more energized when I come back to my stream. I feel a more positive outlook and connection with my community because I encourage them to stretch too. I don't feel pain in my lower back, joints, etc. And, I feel healthier both consciously and subconsciously.

Not only do I take stretch breaks, but I ensure that I'm eating appropriately during my stream as well. Often, I get meal prep done that will last me throughout the week, or I ensure that I've got actual food (not snacks) that I can grab quickly on a break. More changes...

Just like above, with stretching, I feel more energized, I feel like I'm being healthier, no stomach pains from eating "meh" food, and I'm constantly satisfied instead of hungry or a bit too full (which happened often before). And, it's heckin easy to meal prep.

I relayed this to the viewer who said that I take long breaks and made sure I explained to my entire audience why I do what I do. And I want to explain it to the people of Twitter who care to read as well.

Streamers , myself included, often set unrealistic and unhealthy expectations and goals. Examples include 24 hour streams, a lack of breaks because we're glued to the game or entertainment, and eating very little during streaming because it creates downtime and loses viewers.

A lot of these aren't really an issue at face value, but when mishandled, can be REALLY bad for broadcasters. They create burnout, body aches and pains, mental and physical exhaustion, and an unhealthy lifestyle overall. But, what about the viewers they lose?

Sure, every time I take a stretch break, I may lose some viewers. As a streamer, you have GOT to understand that any downtime will cause a drop in viewership. It's what you do when you get back that can bring it right back up. Plan for it, don't let it drag you down.

And this obviously extends to bigger breaks from streaming in general like days off or vacations (or staycations). You've got to realize that a drop in viewership isn't always a bad thing. It can be necessary for both the streamer and the viewers.

And this is where I really want the broadcasters and communities to pay attention. Since I've started taking regular stretch breaks, treating my body and my channel with more respect, and attempting to be more realistic with my approach to streaming as a career, I've had GAINS.

Yes, I realize that "GAINS" is a really lame way to describe it, but I ran out of characters for that last tweet. The gist of it is that I've broken records on my channel and hit targets and goals that I didn't even push my audience to reach.

My channel is more alive than ever (even with my viewer count being only a fraction of what it was 3 years ago). My audience engagement is through the roof, the "business" aspect of my channel is booming, and, most importantly, I'm having a crap load of fun.

It's important that we, as broadcasters, set realistic expectations to ourselves, to our audience, and to our fellow broadcasters. You don't have to break yourself in order to obtain something fantastic. Your community can grow stronger especially with a healthy streaming focus.

My community constantly reminds me to take breaks now, they take breaks with me, we poke fun at each other when we forget to break, and the fraction of viewers I lose during those breaks either come back or return as new viewers and stick around because of my renewed energy.

Make healthy habits a part of your channel. Make it a necessary part of your entertainment. You'll feel better because of it, and you won't be risking some of the extremely negative parts of being a broadcaster.

And for the viewer who told me I take the longest breaks out of any Twitch streamer...

After I explained to them what I just tweeted and why it's important to take breaks, they dropped a 25,000 cheer in the chat. They didn't say anything else after that.

So to that viewer,

OBVIOUSLY, thank you for supporting the channel with an extremely girthy amount of generosity. But, more importantly, thank you for reminding me why it's important to take breaks and create healthy streaming habits for me and my audience.

And thank you to @littlesiha for twisting my arm until I started taking these healthy habits seriously. My channel has improved drastically because of them. I would twist all my streamer friends' arms, but I think it's important for everyone to find what works for them.

Also, my new emote that is meant to visualize what everyone wants when I go into rant mode fits perfectly at the end of this thread.