Benefits of Physical Exercise for Esport Athletes

It is undeniable that exercise is beneficial to health. This is even more true in large amounts of sitting time for sedentary populations (1, 2). Sitting position is also the primary position of esport athletes and practice or training times for esport athletes often ranges from 8 to 10 hour. Therefore, it is important to integrate physical activity to maintain the health of these athletes.

Outside of physiological benefits, there has been a growing amount of evidence showing the effectiveness of exercise for improving cognitive function. For esport athletes, executive-control processes are crucial because they are actively used in a wide variety of games for long hours.

It is critical for practitioners to understand the physical and cognitive demands of esports to make good decisions when deciding which exercise might work best for esport athletes. The term esports has been defined as a static endurance sport that challenges our executive functions in a virtual environment. Mental processes such as executive functions are constantly used in gaming. These include reasoning, problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and attentional control, which are all required to manage the details of a complex game (4).

Cognitive Function, Learning, and Memory

Esport athletes are required to make constant decisions relative to the status of themselves within the game. For this reason, cognitive function plays a vital role in the performance of esport athletes. Attention, processing speed, and memory are all used throughout a competitive esport game. Research shows that exercise has both long-term and short-term effect on cognitive functions (5). Esport athletes can benefit from any form of exercise as long as they are performing it regularly. There is also the potential of strategic use of acute exercise (five to seven minutes) to facilitate increases of performance for single competitive games in esports (5).

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Motor Skills

High levels of performance in gaming often rely on competency of motor skills also referred to as mechanical skill in gaming. Motor skills represent the capacity to control our bodies and the objects around us to achieve a specific outcome. Motor memory is our ability to retain these skills as we are progressing through the stages of motor learning. Various forms and types of exercise have been shown to improve both motor skill acquisition and motor memory, which can mean both short and long-term benefits to performance (6).

Mental Endurance

Esports promote sedentary behaviour, which might lead to decreasing energy levels and increasing the perception of fatigue. On the other hand, following a regular exercise program has been shown to significantly improve energy levels (7). Low-intensity exercise such as walking has can reduce immediate fatigue symptoms by 65 percent when mental fatigue builds up (8). Additionally, exercise can increase energy levels while also being a great counterbalance to growing levels of mental fatigue, and incorporating low-intensity exercise throughout the day may help reduce the build-up of fatigue.

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Resistance to Stress

Long-term chronic stress can be detrimental and cause health issues like weakened immune system, anxiety, and depression. Research on exercise’s neurological effect on the body’s stress response shows that exercise improves the brain’s stress buffers. Physiologically, this may occur by exercise’s ability to reduce cortisol levels; release pain-reducing, feel-good endorphins; and help adapt to changing environments with its neurological effects (9). Exercise spikes the stress response in the body and those who exercise regularly have lower levels of cortisol after workouts (10). Players who regularly exercise can have a higher resistance to stress and be better on coping with the stress factor of competitive gaming such as long practice sessions, traveling, and the pressure of competitive settings.

Athlete Longevity

Unfortunately, esport athletes regularly retire at a young age due to the demands of competitive gaming. The reasons behind this are the high amount of gaming which causes high levels of stress to deal, along with potentially unhealthy training habits or lifestyles. Research has shown that esport athletes experience similar amounts of stressors that traditional-sport athletes do (11). Exercise can be a healthy method for athletes to cope with stress as well as providing additional physical and mental benefits. Pain and injuries are an issue in esports as well, and exercise is an effective method for injury prevention and pain management when applied properly. Along with the physical benefits, exercise can improve an athlete’s mood, regulate emotions, and improve quality of sleep.

References

Keadle, S.K., Conroy, D.E., Buman, M.P., Dunstan, D.W., and Matthews, C.E. 2017. “Targeting Reductions in Sitting Time to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 49 (8): 1572-1582.
Warburton, D.E.R. 2006. “Health Benefits of Physical Activity: The Evidence.” Canadian Medical Association Journal 174 (6): 801-809.
Hwu, M. 2016. “Healthcare in Esports: A Definition for Esports.” 1HP. www.1-hp.org/blog/hpforgamers/can-we-talk-about-healthcare-in-esports.
de Las Heras, B., Li, O., Rodrigues, L., Nepveu, J.-F., and Roig, M. 2020. “Exercise Improves Video Game Performance.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 52 (7): 1595-1602.
Basso, J.C., and Suzuki, W.A. 2017. “The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review.” Brain Plasticity 2 (2): 127-152.
Bengtsson, S.L., Nagy, Z., Skare, S., Forsman, L., Forssberg, H., and Ullén, F. 2005. “Extensive Piano Practicing Has Regionally Specific Effects on White Matter Development.” Nature Neuroscience 8 (9): 1148-1150.
Puetz, T.W. 2006. “Physical Activity and Feelings of Energy and Fatigue.” Sports Medicine 36 (9): 767-780.
Puetz, T.W., Flowers, S.S., and O’Connor, P.J. 2008. “A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Feelings of Energy and Fatigue in Sedentary Young Adults With Persistent Fatigue.” Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 77 (3): 167-174.
Ambrose, K.R., and Golightly, Y.M. 2015. “Physical Exercise as Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Pain: Why and When.” Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology 29 (1): 120-130.
Hackney, A.C. 2006. “Stress and the Neuroendocrine System: The Role of Exercise As a Stressor and Modifier of Stress.” Expert Review of Endocrinology & Metabolism 1 (6): 783-792.
Smith, M.J., Birch, P.D.J., and Bright, D. 2019. “Identifying Stressors and Coping Strategies of Elite Esports Competitors.” International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations 11 (2): 22-39.