Abstract
Preliminary findings from this study were presented as a poster (P376) at Sleep Europe 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.13740). INTRODUCTION: Sleep loss is presumed by academics and esport (organised competitive video-game play) athletes to be an in-game esport performance hindrance, primarily due to its well understood effects on multiple domains of cognitive performance. However, the effects of acute sleep loss specifically on esports performance have not been explored. We aimed to elucidate whether total sleep deprivation degrades in-game performance in the popular esport ‘Rocket League’. METHODS: Forty habitual Rocket League players were paired according to in-game ability level (twenty pairs), with one assigned to a control group (CON) and the other assigned to an intervention group (TSD). Two test sessions took place, in which paired players completed subjective and cognitive performance measures, and played seven Rocket League matches against one another. In one session, both players in a pair were well rested, while in the other, CON was rested while TSD was sleep deprived. RESULTS: Acute total sleep deprivation resulted in higher self-reported sleepiness, lower alertness and motivation, poorer performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) and two-choice component of the Category Switch Task (CST). Despite this, overall in-game esport performance did not worsen due to sleep deprivation, although exploratory analysis suggests potential in-game strategy change. DISCUSSION: Our findings do not suggest that sleep loss is inconsequential for esport athletes, but rather suggest that acute bouts of sleep loss of similar/lesser severity may not be a primary concern for in-game esports performance.