Our League of Legends team, Gravitas, has been included in a study conducted by Flinders University to research sleep and esports athletes.
The study is using sleep tracking devices and mood measures (anxiety and depression) to determine how well esports athletes around the world sleep, and the effect this has on their mental health and well being.
Preliminary results have shown that esports athletes are not getting the sleep (7-9 hours per night for young adults aged 18-25) to best support optimal mental health and performance.
Leading the way is a multinational sleep team that includes Flinders clinical psychologist and PhD candidate Daniel Bonnar and Professor Michael Gradisar (Flinders University), Associate Professor Sooyeon Suh and PhD candidate Sangha Lee (Sungshin University), Associate Professor Brandy Roane (University of North Texas) and Dr Daniel Blum (Stanford University).
SG Esports founder Sean Callanan understands how sleep studies have improved athlete and front office performance in pro sports through discussing a sleep project conducted by Phoenix Suns on his Sports Geek podcast with Suns CIO Steve Reese.
Sean Callanan says “I’m looking forward to Gravitas players understanding the importance of sleep and how it can affect their performance for practice and on game days. I know it’s become a focus in traditional pro-sports, so esports should be following their lead”.
“It’s great to see our players get support from Daniel Bonner on sleep as well as helping them prepare for the pressures of being on OPL stage. Additionally the team is excited to participate with teams like Gen.G from South Korea, Perth-based Ground Zero and Kanga Esports. Esports players are a competitive bunch. They are motivated to be the best sleepers across the study.”
It is great to be able to introduce a professional like Daniel Bonnar to the Gravitas team and we look forward to him supporting the Gravitas coaches and players as well as sharing information for gamers to better manage their sleep and wellness.
Here is some more information on the study:
- Esports organisations optimising player sleep – Flinders University
- Aussie Researchers Are Tackling Esports’ Next Big Challenge: Sleep – Kotaku
- Esports organizations look to optimize player sleep – Science Daily
- Esports athletes are not getting enough sleep, affecting their performance: Study – Outlook
- Risk Factors and Sleep Intervention Considerations in Esports: A Review and Practical Guide – Sleep Medicine Research
- This is how video games can screw up your sleep – Sleep Junkies