Physiological and Cognitive Functions Following a Discrete Session of Competitive Esports Gaming

TLDR

Competitive electronic and video games, collectively termed “esports,” have become an international industry, yet their physiological and cognitive health effects remain understudied. The study aimed to examine physiological and cognitive changes following a single session of esports gameplay in two game types: First Person Shooter and Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate, speed, accuracy, and inhibitory processes before and after gameplay to assess acute effects. All esports gamers showed increased systolic blood pressure, increased speed, and reduced accuracy and inhibitory control; FPS games produced a larger peak heart rate change than MOBA games, highlighting implications for player health and performance optimization.

Abstract

Competitive electronic and video games, collectively termed “esports” have become an international industry. The physiological and cognitive health results of esports practice and competition have not been adequately studied. The current study examined physiological and cognitive changes after a session of esports game play for two types of games, First Person Shooter and Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Increases in systolic blood pressure, increases in speed, and decreases in accuracy and inhibitory processes were found for all esports gamers. For peak heart rate change, First Person Shooter games elicited a larger change than Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games. These results have implications for the management of esports player cognitive and physical health as well as for the optimization of performance in competitive esports tournaments.