Never happens to me, infact I have the complete opposite.

When I finish playing I often find a line of sweat where my wrist contacts my laptop below the WASD keys.

CPTBadAss

United States594 Posts

May 16 2011 16:28 GMT

#22

When you watch the guys in-between matches in the GSL, they use those pocket hand warmers that skiers use. You could try that.

Ropid

Germany3557 Posts

May 16 2011 16:28 GMT

#23

On May 17 2011 01:25 Grezzz wrote:
Never happens to me, infact I have the complete opposite.

When I finish playing I often find a line of sweat where my wrist contacts my laptop below the WASD keys.

Yeah well, that could be adrenaline. I sometimes was sweating but still had cold hands.

Khanz

France214 Posts

May 16 2011 16:30 GMT

#24

Funny i have the exact opposite problem, I sweat and it's a huge problem, I wonder how pros do fix wet hands; cuz then you have wet water all over your mousepad

freestalker

469 Posts

May 16 2011 16:30 GMT

#25

there are usb hand-warmers/gloves, even saw a heating mouse/mousepad.

Gracksaurusrex

United Kingdom171 Posts

May 16 2011 16:31 GMT

#26

My hands doing get cold,
really tired though

lagbzz

Poland171 Posts

May 16 2011 16:31 GMT

#27

Yeah, it happens to me if I want to win every match possible. I usually just wait it out, sometimes make some push-ups or warm up in typeracer.

Ksyper

Bulgaria665 Posts

May 16 2011 16:32 GMT

#28

Everyone with this problem should start either running, jumping in place, doing push ups or any other intensive workout. Getting cold hands while playing imo is because you keep your hands at a higher level so blood can't circulate as well, and you get cold hands. A way to combat this is just to get the blood flowing, just jump for 5 minutes in place or something before you sit down and play and you should be fine.
That's what works for me anyway.

theqat

United States2856 Posts

May 16 2011 16:35 GMT

#29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud's_phenomenon I've got a mild case of this that can be pretty annoying for playing SC. Just have to keep the house warm and take care to warm my hands between matches, though, and it's pretty much handled

MarthVader

United States63 Posts

May 16 2011 16:35 GMT

#30

I keep a three wick candle lit next to my keyboard when i play and warm my hands up with it between games. And it smells amazing.
Also, make sure you have socks and a hoodie on. It may not seem like it would help, but it does.

ArcticVanguard

United States450 Posts

May 16 2011 16:37 GMT

#31

Oh god, yes, my hands get absolutely FREEZING. Doesn't matter if I'm playing StarCraft or Dwarf Fortress, my hands always feel like they're about to get frostbite or something. My hands get really painful and weak when they do, too. Happens when I play guitar too.

EnOmy

Australia183 Posts

May 16 2011 16:40 GMT

#32

For playing from home the most realistic and practical thing I've found is using a hot beverage and two-handing it between games or even sneaking it during quieter moments at the beginning. Over long sessions though this has drawbacks, the drink cools or the bladder kicks in.

Another method I know of more fanatic people using is fingerless (or hobo) gloves. Throwing a pair on a heater before play and then using only one glove on their keyboard hand. In this manner they can swap gloves as the cool and there's always a warm one waiting on the heater. Ingenious.

oDieN[Siege]

United States2904 Posts

May 16 2011 16:46 GMT

#33

When I play StarCraft 2, my hands normally get cold only during the Winter season.
I then proceed to wear 2 T-Shirts and a sweater; with maybe the heater on.
Works good for me.

Befree

695 Posts

May 16 2011 16:47 GMT

#34

I had this happen to me for a while, but it was more self-inflicted. My laptop would heat up when I played SC2 and wouldn't be able to run unless I had a fan going right at it. So the fan would blow at my hand as well making me very cold.

Now with my PC, I just try to keep the temperature of the room up above 70 and if they're too cold I run them under hot water to warm em up.

FrozenFruit

21 Posts

May 16 2011 16:47 GMT

#35

On May 17 2011 01:24 MichaelEU wrote:
Cold hands are one of the first signs of RSI. Instead of artificial heating, I suggest taking a break.

Here are some tips to improve circulation:

Form a fist and individually move your fingers up and down.
Form a fist and position your thumb on the knuckle of your index finger and slide it over your knuckles in a swiping motion.

These motions also relieve sweaty hands.

It has nothing to do with RSI or hand speed affecting local metabolic rate.

As explained earlier in this thread, it is an acute stress reaction to playing starcraft which diverts blood flow away from the peripheral organs (hands and toes) and towards central organs to allow you to run or fight. However, this isn't good for a precision based game like sc2.

You should instead be aiming to heat your hands up (as you are doing) and/or attempting to reduce the pressure/stress you put on yourself with each game that you play.

Circulation tips above will work for a short term, but they will then be overridden by the stress response after a while.

I am a medical student - please don't quote and argue using wikipedia.

Airact

Finland366 Posts

May 16 2011 16:47 GMT

#36

Edit:
The previous post... Read that
For comparison, I'm leaving my post here.

For me it's usually somehow related to my nervousness level as well as the temperature of environment and the latest lottery numbers.

I have had experiences that my hands have been cold AND sweating at the same time while playing.

I think it has to do with adrenaline and a body reaction that concentrates blood to the central organs and makes sure they are warm. This is fixed by just getting more warm so that your body either doesn't recognise or doesn't feel the need to do this.

Get a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, a jacked or whatever with longer sleeves on top of your usual T-shirt and your hands shouldn't be as cold. If that doesn't work, try with a jacket.

And if THAT doesn't work... Quote this post and mention that my theories are total bullshit. I'm no doctor you know...

KOVU

Denmark708 Posts

May 16 2011 16:49 GMT

#37

My hands used to get very cold and hard to play with when I laddered. I assumed that it was just nerves and forced myself to play non-stop for many hours in a row, don't get cold hands anymore.

Make yourself comfortable when you're playing and perhaps put on some music (helped me, and I recall there being a thread about music while laddering)

Glimred

China888 Posts

May 16 2011 16:51 GMT

#38

This is really strange, it's kind of the opposite for me. I normally have rather cool hands but after playing a few games of starcraft they feel really warm. They don't start sweating or anything, they just feel very warm.

KevinIX

United States2472 Posts

May 16 2011 16:55 GMT

#39

Take a break after each game to calm down. Once you've played a thousand games like me, I don't get cold hands anymore. I've won and lost so many games that I honestly don't care anymore.