Identifying electronic-sport athletes' sleep-wake cycle characteristics

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Sleep Medicine
• Esports Medicine

Background:

• Organized electronic-sport (esport) participation is increasingly linked to adverse health outcomes, including sleep disturbances.
• Understanding the specific sleep-wake cycle characteristics of professional esports athletes is crucial for addressing potential health issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the sleep-wake cycle patterns of League of Legends (LoL) players across different phases: pre-training, training, pre-competition, and competition.
• To assess sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype in elite LoL athletes.

Main Methods:

• Twenty male elite LoL players participated in the study.
• Sleep patterns were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ).
• Actigraphy was employed for 7 days to objectively measure sleep parameters during training and competition phases (n=16), while questionnaires were used for pre-training and pre-competition phases (n=20).

Main Results:

• The majority of LoL athletes displayed a moderately evening chronotype, poor sleep quality (PSQI), and borderline excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS).
• Significant delays in sleep onset and offset times were observed during the competition phase compared to other conditions.
• Correlations revealed associations between poor sleep quality and sleepiness, and between chronotype and various sleep parameters (sleep onset, total sleep time, time awake) during competition.

Conclusions:

• League of Legends athletes demonstrate significantly altered sleep patterns, characterized by poor sleep quality and delayed sleep timing, especially during competitive periods.
• The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to improve sleep hygiene and manage sleep-wake cycle disruptions in professional esports players.