Sleep Characteristics and Risk Factors of Korean Esports Athletes: An Exploratory Study

Background and Objective Although sleep is a potentially important determinant of performance in esports, there have been no published data on the sleep behavior of professional esports athletes. The aim of this study is to investigate sleep aspects and sleep risk factors in esports athletes. Methods Thirty-four esports athletes were compared with 21 nonathletes from the general population to assess their sleep patterns and mood. Study 1 is a quantitative study with a 2-week observation period of sleep that was performed after evaluating insomnia severity, daytime sleepiness, sleep knowledge, and mood state. During the sleep observation period, participants recorded sleep diaries. In study 2, qualitative research was conducted with in-depth interviews from 6 participants. Results The esports athlete group reported significantly delayed sleep phase compared to the nonathlete group (d = 2.10 hours, p < 0.001). The esports athlete group reported significantly lower sleep quality and scores for feeling refreshed upon awakening, higher depression scores and significantly higher proportion of individuals with clinical symptoms of depression compared to the nonathlete group (ps < 0.01). In study 2, six themes emerged from the interviews: sleep risk factors, sleep protective factors, lifestyle, stressors, organizational management, and demands for sleep/psychological intervention. Conclusions The professional esports athletes showed more depressed mood and more delayed sleep phase compared to the non-athletes. A wide range of interventions tailored to esports athletes should be developed and implemented on both individual and organizational levels.