The Effect of Total Sleep Deprivation on the Cognitive and In-Game Performance of Rocket League Esport Players

Abstract

Purpose: It is presumed by many that acute sleep loss results in degraded in-game esports (competitive, organized video game play) performance. However, this has not been experimentally investigated to date. The objective of the current experiment was to elucidate whether ~29hrs of total sleep deprivation impacts in-game performance for the popular esport Rocket League.

Patients and methods: Twenty skill-matched pairs (N = 40 total) were recruited. Within each pair, one participant was assigned to an intervention group (TSD), while the other was assigned to a control group (CON). Two test sessions occurred; one while both participants were rested (baseline), and the other while the CON participant was rested but the TSD participant was sleep deprived (experimental).

Results: Following total sleep deprivation, TSD participants reported higher Karolinska Sleepiness Scale-measured subjective sleepiness and lower subjective alertness and motivation, as well as worsened PVT response speed and ~5 times greater PVT lapse incidence, and worsened response speed on a two-choice categorization task. However, overall in-game Rocket League performance did not worsen due to total sleep deprivation. Exploratory analyses of performance indicators suggest a potential shift toward a simpler and safer strategy following sleep deprivation.

Conclusion: Following a bout of ~29hrs total sleep deprivation, overall in-game Rocket League performance remained unaffected. This presents as a promising finding given the high potential for acute pre-competition sleep disturbance in esports, though habitual sleep remains a concern for esport athletes.

Keywords: athletes; cognition; gaming; human factors; in-game performance; task-switching.

Figure 1

A timeline of the 15-day protocol for all participants within the protocol. The icons within this figure depict the following. Wristband = wrist-worn activity monitor; book = Consensus Sleep Diary; coffee mug and beer = caffeine and alcohol; clipboard = subjective measures. Computer with keyboard = computerized cognitive tests. Computer with controller = Rocket League gameplay; bed = sleeping; man running = strenuous activity; light and thermometer = light and temperature-controlled environment. TSD = participants within the sleep deprivation group; CON = participants within the control group.

Figure 2

Graphs showcasing the Rocket League experience and expertise of the included participants. (A) Rank distribution and pairing of included players. Clear diamonds resemble control group (CON) participants, and red diamonds resemble sleep deprivation group (TSD) participants. Pairs are denoted by lines joining participants. The x-axis denotes the participants in-game matchmaking rating (MMR; a proxy for expertise) relative to the esports overall player base at the time of recruitment, such that lower values resemble a lower-ranked player and vice versa (ie, 99% denotes a player in the top 1% of players). To better visualize pairs in the top 3% of ranked 1v1 Rocket League players, a magnified display is depicted above the main graph, denoted by a magnifying glass icon. (B) Relationship between estimated total hours of Rocket League played (x-axis) and player expertise (y-axis). Dashed lines represent 95% CI for line fitted using the linear regression equation. For both A and B, colours represent the in-game rank of the participants (in order from bottom to top; bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, champion, grand champion, supersonic legend).

Figure 3

Mean (±SD) discrepancy between (A) target bedtime and time at sleep onset (TASO) and (B) target wake-time and time at wake (TAW), for each participant within each pair. Participants in CON are denoted by clear diamonds, while TSD participants are denoted by the red diamonds. The green band denotes TASO or TAW within 1 hour of the target bed/ wake time, while the red area denotes TASO or TAW outside of that range.

Figure 4

Box and whisker (min → max) plots showing the group mean total sleep times (TSTs) for CON (control group) and TSD (sleep deprivation group). (A) The night before test sessions and (B) the mean of the two nights prior to that shown in (A).

Figure 5

Frequency distribution of response speed (RS; 1000/RT_(msec)) for participants in (A). CON (control group) and (B). TSD (sleep deprivation group). We direct the reader to (B), and note both a leftward shift and leftward skew of the response distribution in the experimental test session for the TSD participants, consistent with previous literature (ie Figure 4 77) and demonstrative of both the broadband decrease in RS and increase in lapses observed (trials to the left of the dotted line).

Figure 6

Box and whisker (min → max) plots showing (A). KSS (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) scores, (B). Alertness VAS (Visual Analog Scale) scores, and (C). Motivation VAS scores (reverse scored) for CON (control group) and TSD (sleep deprivation group) participants in the baseline and experimental sessions. *** indicates a significant difference, p < 0.001.

Figure 7

Violin plots displaying the distribution of (A) Goal Difference (GD) and (B-F) exploratory performance indicators (PIs; (B) Shots Taken Difference, (C) Time Spent Goalside of the Ball Difference, (D) Saves Made Difference, (E) Time Spent High in the Air Difference, (F) Demos Inflicted Difference) for baseline and experimental sessions, across all 279 matches. Box and whisker (min → max) plots inside the violin plots resemble the distribution of mean outcome variables across a test session for a given pair (N = 20 for each box and whisker plot). Diamonds represent pair means for each session, with pair means connected via the dotted lines. The solid red line represents the estimated mean±SE from each model used for analysis. P-values are provided for each graph.

Figure 8

(A) Bar chart showing the difference in mean reaction time for each trial of the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT; including the first minute practice block) for a randomly selected TSD (sleep deprivation group) participant. Values above zero resemble a trial in which the reaction time was poorer following sleep deprivation, compared to when well rested. Red bars resemble trials which were a lapse within the session while sleep deprived, and blue bars resemble trials which were a lapse within the session when rested. (B) Bar chart showing the difference in mean reaction time (black), mean within-participant standard deviation or reaction time (ie, green), and lapse probability (red), for TSD participants following sleep deprivation protocol and when well rested, within each one-minute epoch of the 10-min PVT (inclusive of the first minute of the PVT). Values above 0 resemble greater mean values following sleep deprivation, compared to when rested. Black and green bars are measured on the left y-axis, and red bars are measured on the right y-axis.