The Sleep, Anxiety, Mood, and Cognitive Performance of Oceanic Rocket League Esports Athletes Competing in a Multiday Regional Event

Abstract

The overall aim of the present study was to examine the daily patterns and relationships between sleep behavior, anxiety, mood (i.e., depression symptoms), and cognitive performance (i.e., reaction time) in esports athletes competing in an Oceanic Rocket League Championship Series regional event. Sixteen participants completed a daily sleep diary, an evening anxiety measure, and an afternoon mood measure and cognitive performance task. Measures were taken (a) precompetition, (b) across the competition days, and (c) postcompetition. We found that participants’ lights-out time was earliest across the competition nights. Sleep-onset latency gradually lengthened precompetition and across the competition nights, eventually exceeding normal limits. Wake after sleep onset was longest across the competition nights but remained within normal limits. Wake-up time was earliest at the start of the competition period but consistently late on most other days. Total sleep time was generally adequate but mildly reduced the night before the first day of competition. There was no significant relationship between anxiety and subsequent sleep nor a relationship between total sleep time and next day mood or cognitive performance. Future research should investigate whether these findings generalize to esports athletes from other games, at higher levels of competition, and to different start times.