The Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Collegiate eSport Team Players

Overview

E-sports, which is called video games that are played in a competitive and organized way in a virtual environment, individually or in like teams, continues to increase its popularity by reaching individuals of all ages with the acceleration it has gained to worldwide. The major keys to performance in e-sports, which include games in many different categories; tactical and cognitive abilities that depend on executive functions such as attention, perception, memory, and multitasking. It also requires play skills that include fluent and coordinated movements, such as hand-eye coordination. Therefore, the reaction time among the players plays a decisive role in the performance. The sedentary life-induced physical, mental and spiritual health of the e-sports player who is in front of the screen for a long time is negatively affected, and it is seen that the accuracy in the executive functions of the athlete decreases and results in impulsivity. Physical activity can be considered as a good opportunity for performance, as physical, cognitive and spiritual improvements will contribute positively to the performance of the athlete. Aerobic exercise, which is widely performed today for physical activity, has positive effects on both physical, cognitive and psychosocial aspects. This study was designed as a randomized controlled, single-blind, prospective study to examine the effect of aerobic exercise training on reaction time, neuropsychological parameters and mood in e-sports players playing in university e-sports team.

E-sports, which are called video games that are played in a competitive and organized manner in a virtual environment, individually or in teams, in line with a certain goal, are taking place today based on the principle of directing virtual avatars. Following the increase in personal computer use, it continues to increase its popularity by reaching individuals of all ages, while gaining a worldwide popularity with players predominantly consisting of younger population. The major keys to performance in e-sports, which include games in many different categories; Tactical and cognitive abilities that depend on executive functions such as attention, perception, memory, and multitasking. It also requires play skills that include fluent and coordinated movements, such as hand-eye coordination. Therefore, the reaction time among the players plays a decisive role in the performance. Since the e-sports player, whose average career years are known to be short, will regularly train 5.5-10 hours a day in order to continue with maximum performance and improve their skills, many of the players earn a sedentary life by not participating in any physical activity. Although the increase in the time spent in front of the screen brings success, physical and mental health due to the sedentary life gained is negatively affected, and it is seen that the accuracy in executive functions decreases and results in impulsivity as it is continued without rest. In addition to these, it will be possible to say the presence of depression and anxiety. According to the guidelines published by the World Health Organization, it has been observed that individuals aged 18-64 are recommended at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activities per week or at least 75-150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activities. Physical activity can be considered as a good opportunity for performance, since the physical-cognitive system that works smoothly in e-sports players will contribute positively to the performance of the athlete. Since physical activity also contributes to mental healing, it is thought that the athlete's chance of success will be higher by causing a positive effect on the performance of the player. Aerobic exercise, known as activities in which the major muscle groups of the body are moved rhythmically for a continuous period of time, increase synaptic plasticity, while aerobic exercise is known to improve attention and affect reaction times in direct proportion to attention. Positive effects of aerobic exercise are observed in psychosocial aspects as well as in cognitive development. Reaction time; 3 separate tests, visual, auditory and audio-visual, will be evaluated with computer aided Microgate-Optojump Next measuring device. Neuropsychological evaluation; short-term memory, attention, information processing speed, and problem-solving skills will be evaluated with Corsi Block Task, Stroop Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Fitts Law Test and Digit Span Test. Mood evaluation will be done with Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Before people are included in the exercise training protocol, knowing the person's maximum exercise capacity will determine an effective program and the person/situation where we need to end the exercise, so aerobic exercise capacity will be done with the '20 Meter Shuttle Run Test', which is a maximal field test. This study was designed as a randomized controlled, single-blind, prospective study to examine the effect of aerobic exercise training on reaction time, neuropsychological parameters and mood in e-sports players playing in university e-sports team.