Effects of video game playing on sprint performance : A study using a racing game

Exercise performance may be enhanced by moderate increasing arousal levels before exercise. Although it is known that playing video games increases physiological and psychological arousal levels, the effects of pre-exercise “video game playing” on exercise performance have not been investigated. We examined the influence of playing a racing video games before exercise on sprint cycling performance. Twelve healthy male university students performed one set of 10 s sprint cycling prior to exercise in the no video game (Con), video game with game sound (SV), and video game without game sound (NSV) conditions on separate occasions. The subjective arousal levels were measured before and after the video game using a questionnaire. The subjective arousal levels after playing the video game were higher in SV than in Con and NSV (p < 0.001, p < 0.01), while higher in NSV than in Con (p < 0.01). The maximum power per body weight during sprint cycling was higher in SV and NSV than in Con (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). The mean power per body weight during sprint cycling was higher in SV than in Con (p < 0.05), while tended to be higher in NSV than in Con (p < 0.1), although NSV tended to be lower than in SV (p < 0.1). These results suggest that the subjective arousal levels increase by playing a racing video game with or without game sounds. The results also suggest that playing a racing video game increases the subjective arousal levels and increases the maximum power and the mean power during sprint cycling.