If you get a chance go on a Software Carpentry [1] course. I went on one 4 months ago and it changed my whole outlook. Greg Wilson take you through the psychological aspects of programming - why you should break every hour - the difference between "sip of tea" and "make a cup of tea". How your code relates to short-term memory and much more.

Don't think "I know how to program". Even if you know the syntax and the idioms you don't know everything. Simply going through a workshop will change the way you think.

[1]http://software-carpentry.org

It's good for the brain if you learn to moderate your programming activity. Doing 100 hour weeks for more than a year will basically mess you up.

It takes about 2 months to come back from a burn out, playing high speed games can help you chill, help you step down to the speed of normal life again. But the best thing is to learn to say 'f* it', and take a few days off here and there.

Programming is like the gym for your brain, video games work in a similar way - but it's in a slightly different part (from my experience) of the brain. ie: they are related, close, but not the same - but do compliment each other if used in a balanced way.

Source: Programming for 32 years.

I will never accept the term 'hacker' - it's annoying