Exploring sleep behaviour in esports and factors associated with sleep quality

The demanding training schedules in esports can disrupt regular sleep patterns and contribute to daytime sleepiness. The present study investigated casual and competitive esports players' sleep behaviour and lifestyle habits to understand the associations between training schedules and sleep characteristics. The study used a cross-sectional online questionnaire to collect subjective data from a sample of 243 esports players (81 % males; mean age = 21.27 ± 4.04 years) that differed in gaming platform and competition involvement. Average scores on sleep-related scales revealed that participants were evening chronotypes with good sleep quality, moderate sleep hygiene, and moderate daytime sleepiness. Daily esports gameplay during weekdays (mean = 3.69 ± 2.77 hours) and weekends (mean = 5.06 ± 3.04 hours) showed no significant correlation with sleep quality. Competition level (casual vs. competitive) moderated the relationship between gameplay duration and sleep quality scores. Regression analyses revealed a significant interaction for casual players during weekday periods only, with longer gameplay durations predictive of poorer sleep quality scores. Competitive players displayed no significant changes to sleep quality as daily gameplay durations increased. The findings indicate that scheduling factors, including timing and duration of training sessions relative to sleep onset, differ between casual and competitive players. Insights into behavioural and scheduling differences in esports can inform the development of structured training and sleep routines that enhance player performance and recovery.