Background and ObjectiveaaAlthough 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. MethodsaaThirty-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. ResultsaaThe 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. ConclusionsaaThe 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.
Background: Firefighters are vulnerable to irregular sleep patterns and sleep disturbance due to work characteristics such as shift work and frequent dispatch. However, there are few studies investigating intervention targeting sleep for firefighters. This preliminary study aimed to develop and test a sleep intervention, namely FIT-IN (Firefighter’s Therapy for Insomnia and Nightmares), which was based on existing evidence-based treatment tailored to firefighters in consideration of their occupational characteristics. Methods: This study implemented a single-group pre-post study design, utilizing an intervention developed based on brief behavior therapy for insomnia with imagery rehearsal therapy components. FIT-IN consisted of a total of three sessions (two face-to-face group sessions and one telephone session). Participants were recruited from Korean fire stations, and a total of 39 firefighters participated. Participants completed a sleep diary for two weeks, as well as the following questionnaires to assess their sleep and psychological factors: insomnia severity index (ISI), disturbing dream and nightmare severity index (DDNSI), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), depressive symptom inventory-suicidality subscale (DSI), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). These questionnaires were administered before the first session and at the end of the second session. Results: The FIT-IN program produced improvements in sleep indices. There was a significant increase in sleep efficiency (p < 0.01), and a decrease in sleep onset latency, number of awakenings, and time in bed (p < 0.05), as derived from weekly sleep diaries. In addition, significant decreases were shown for insomnia (p < 0.001) and nightmare severity (p < 0.01). Conclusion: There were significant improvements in sleep and other clinical indices (depression, PTSD scores) when comparing pre-and post-intervention scores. FIT-IN may be a feasible and practical option in alleviating sleep disturbance in this population. Further studies will be needed to ascertain FIT-IN’s effectiveness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.