Your essential self-care checklist for Develop:Brighton

This isn’t an article; it’s a checklist – helping you practice good self-care at Develop:Brighton 2026.

We’ve done this before, and we’ll keep doing it so long as it helps just one person stay healthy and happy at video game industry events like Develop:Brighton. Let’s start by taking a look at your wellbeing toolkit.

Pack your self-care essentials

What you carry with you will make all the difference to your wellbeing. You want to prioritise essentials that help you hydrate, fuel your body, and self-regulate. Remember, you’ll be carrying this bag all day, so it’s important not to weigh yourself down.

Everyone’s needs will be different, but here are some common essentials to get you started…

• 500ml water bottle (ideally one that’s easy to refill)
• Lightweight, shelf-stable snacks (e.g. protein bars)
• Small fidget toys
• Travel-sized personal care products (e.g. hand sanitiser, sunscreen)
• Earplugs, noise-cancelling headphones, etc.
• Portable hand fan
• Any medication/pain relief
• Throat lozenges (thank us later)
• Phone charger or portable battery

Choosing the right bag can help reduce your stress at events! Make sure it’s comfortable to wear and has compartments to help you find what you’re looking for, fast. If your bag doesn’t have compartments (e.g. a tote bag), you can avoid rummaging by keeping your smaller essentials (e.g. hand sanitiser, lip balm, fidget toy) in a smaller pouch – that makes transferring between bags easier too!

Plan your self-care strategy for Develop:Brighton

Nobody can expect to bring their best self to an industry event when their best self isn’t receiving self-care. With the pressure felt across the video game industry, it’s understandable if you feel you need to make every moment count at events like Develop:Brighton. Productivity is the name of the game – but here’s the thing: self-care is productive.

With that in mind, here are some important reminders to help you reframe your schedule and make space for more than just meetings…

• Stay hydrated – dehydration can cause fatigue, headaches, and negatively impact your memory (not great when you’re trying to remember people’s names.
• Don’t skip meals – you’re probably expending more energy than usual, flitting between meetings and roundtables. Now is not the time to ditch your usual eating habits!
• Allow yourself regular breaks – you’re going to do a lot of walking, so give your body time to rest too. Be the person who suggests sitting down; you might help someone else as well as yourself.
• Get fresh air – you might not notice it at first, but the quality of air suffers at big events, which can cause headaches and tiredness, so don’t forget to step outside and breathe in that salty sea air.
• Check in with yourself – make time to consider how you’re feeling, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This can help you avoid overstretching yourself and feeling burned out.
• Say no – you are allowed to set boundaries. That means if you don’t want to attend a party, or have an alcoholic drink, or go somewhere you’re unfamiliar, or stay up late… you can say no.
• Prioritise your sleep – a poor night of sleep will negatively impact your memory, concentration, and overall enjoyment of the event. Listen to your body and give it the recovery time it needs.

You might not feel there’s much use in scheduling in self-care, because surely these are just things you’ll remember or won’t even need to consciously think about. But you’d be surprised what gets forgotten when you’re in the thick of it. Don’t leave your wellbeing to chance. Make a conscious effort to look after yourself (especially at an event that has historically been very warm).

Provide self-care reminders to others

Maybe you feel you’ve nailed self-care at events. We tip our proverbial hats to you! In all seriousness, these aren’t easy habits to get into, so well done.

You might remember what it was like before you started to pay closer attention to your self-care. Maybe you felt silly doing check-ins with yourself, or you felt pressure from your peers to crack on and push through.

Be the voice you needed to hear back then. You can do this by reassuring people they’re okay to take a break and a breather, but you can also lead by example. When you decide to refill your water bottle, suggest your peers accompany you to do the same. If you think it’s time for some fresh air, suggest you take the conversation outside. When you think it’s time for food, ask what everyone’s lunch plans are! It’s those small reminders that get us all into better habits.

We hope you have an enjoyable, productive, and safe time at Develop:Brighton. Remember, you can find Safe In Our World at our official Safe Break mixer on Tuesday (14th July 2026), and at the expo on the Wednesday and Thursday!

You can also visit The Wellbeing Hub for a free-to-access space to pause, reflect, and recharge (and there’ll be paid activities like yoga, sound baths, and more – with the funds raised supporting us and our friends at SpecialEffect).