Mental Fatigue on Reaction Time and Game Performance in Esport Players

NCT ID: NCT06729060

Last Updated: 2025-09-16

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 45 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-01
• Study Completion Date: 2025-06-01

Brief Summary

Electronic sports (e-sports) gained popularity in the early 2000s within the computer gaming community and reached an audience of approximately 395 million people worldwide by 2018 (Bányai et al., 2019; Nagorsky and Wiemeyer, 2020). The exponential growth of e-sports globally has led to its recognition as a sport, creating employment opportunities for players who master and showcase game-related skills, turning e-sports players into professional athletes supported by well-known companies, and providing the chance to win large cash prizes (Seo, 2013; Giakoni-Ramírez et al., 2022). As a result of this progress, it is estimated that the number of global players could reach 3.38 million in 2023, with revenues reaching $184.0 billion (Report, 2023). E-sports refers to competitive video games where teams or individuals compete against each other, and it is recognized as a sport activity that helps players develop and train their mental skills and hand-eye coordination (Adamus, 2012). Although it requires less physical activity and contact compared to most sports, e-sports shares some common aspects with traditional athletic sports. For instance, in games divided into tournaments and matches, players either individually or as a team face off against opponents. Other commonalities include players often practicing for hours every day, working professionally, and being able to secure sponsorships from companies (Jacobs, 2015). There are various computer games with different mechanics and competition rules that players must master. To reach and maintain peak performance, players need to continually exercise and improve their skills and abilities (Nagorsky and Wiemeyer, 2020). E-sports players must adapt their hand-eye coordination, respond quickly to changing conditions, and continuously adjust their reaction speeds (Steenbergen et al., 2015; Stewart et al., 2020; Urbaniak et al., 2020). Key components of e-sports performance include hitting accuracy for moving targets that quickly appear on the screen (hit accuracy) and rapid response to stimuli (reduced reaction time). In the literature, it has been observed that reaction time and hit accuracy are commonly evaluated to measure an e-sports player's performance (Koposov et al., 2020; Sainz et al., 2020; Luu et al., 2021; Ersin et al., 2022). Nagorsky and colleagues have stated that reaction time is the most important performance indicator in all e-sports disciplines (Nagorsky and Wiemeyer, 2020). Since reduced reaction time is crucial for the quick execution of decisions, it can be a factor that makes a difference in e-sports (Brandmeyer et al., 2021). According to recent literature, the Aim Lab software is one program that can measure and improve e-sports player performance (Roldan and Prasetyo, 2021). Researchers plan to use reaction time, hit accuracy, and the Aim Lab training application to evaluate e-sports players' performance. Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state that arises from prolonged cognitive activities (Marcora et al., 2009). It has been shown in the literature that mental fatigue induced by a protocol (e.g., the commonly used Stroop Test) reduces performance parameters such as running and total distance in various team sports (Smith et al., 2015), impairs running, passing, and shooting performance specific to soccer (Smith et al., 2016), and similarly negatively affects physical performance in cricket (Veness et al., 2017) and Australian football players (Weerakkody et al., 2021). Additionally, it has been reported that mental fatigue induced by the Stroop test affects passing decisions in professional soccer players (Gantois et al., 2020) and decreases decision-making performance in sub-elite soccer players (Trecroci et al., 2020).

Furthermore, it has been shown that playing sports-based video games or using social media also causes mental fatigue, negatively affecting decision-making and visuomotor skills (Fortes et al., 2020; Fortes et al., 2022; Fortes et al., 2023). Although the literature generally indicates that playing video games or using social media leads to mental fatigue, there are also studies suggesting otherwise. Ciocca and colleagues found that a 30-minute video-based tactical task did not cause mental fatigue and did not negatively affect physical or technical performance (Ciocca et al., 2022). For all these reasons, it is important to apply a structured fatigue protocol to ensure that the individual is genuinely mentally fatigued. Therefore, in our study, the 30-minute Stroop test will be used to induce mental fatigue, focusing on this gap in the literature.

Conditions

Esport Players; Gaming Performance; Mental Fatigue

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Control Group

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Combination of Motor Imagery and Physical Performance Group

For 15 minutes you will physically eliminate targets by clicking on them in the Aim Lab Trainer (Physical Performance Part).

Then, on a screen divided into 60 squares, the target will appear and disappear in a random square for 5 seconds. At the same time, the metronome will give a warning sound at each new target. The stimulus will come every five seconds and each time the stimulus comes, the target will imagine that it has disappeared. In the next 5 seconds, the stimulus will come again in a different place and he will imagine that he has destroyed it again. In the first two weeks, this will happen for 60 stimuli with 5 second intervals.

(60target*5sec=300sec *3=900sec/60 =15 min). In the next 2 weeks, the interval will be reduced by 1 second and in the last two weeks it will not be reduced. But the duration will always be 15 minutes (Motor Imagery Part).

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Combination of Motor Imagery and Physical Performance

Intervention Type: OTHER

For 15 minutes you will physically eliminate targets by clicking on them in the Aim Lab Trainer (Physical Performance Part).

Then, on a screen divided into 60 squares, the target will appear and disappear in a random square for 5 seconds. At the same time, the metronome will give a warning sound at each new target. The stimulus will come every five seconds and each time the stimulus comes, the target will imagine that it has disappeared. In the next 5 seconds, the stimulus will come again in a different place and he will imagine that he has destroyed it again. In the first two weeks, this will happen for 60 stimuli with 5 second intervals.

(60target*5sec=300sec *3=900sec/60 =15 min). In the next 2 weeks, the interval will be reduced by 1 second and in the last two weeks it will not be reduced. But the duration will always be 15 minutes (Motor Imagery Part).

Physical Performance Group

For 30 minutes, they will eliminate the Aim Lab Trainer test by clicking quickly and accurately with their dominant hands. The physical performance application to be applied both in this group and in the Motor Imagery and Physical Performance Combination Group is the same and will be applied in the same way for 8 weeks.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Physical Performance

Intervention Type: OTHER

For 30 minutes, they will eliminate the Aim Lab Trainer test by clicking quickly and accurately with their dominant hands. The physical performance practice to be applied both in this group and in the Motor Imagery and Physical Performance Combination Group is the same and will be applied in the same way for 8 weeks

Interventions

Combination of Motor Imagery and Physical Performance

For 15 minutes you will physically eliminate targets by clicking on them in the Aim Lab Trainer (Physical Performance Part).

Then, on a screen divided into 60 squares, the target will appear and disappear in a random square for 5 seconds. At the same time, the metronome will give a warning sound at each new target. The stimulus will come every five seconds and each time the stimulus comes, the target will imagine that it has disappeared. In the next 5 seconds, the stimulus will come again in a different place and he will imagine that he has destroyed it again. In the first two weeks, this will happen for 60 stimuli with 5 second intervals.

(60target*5sec=300sec *3=900sec/60 =15 min). In the next 2 weeks, the interval will be reduced by 1 second and in the last two weeks it will not be reduced. But the duration will always be 15 minutes (Motor Imagery Part).

Intervention Type: OTHER

Physical Performance

For 30 minutes, they will eliminate the Aim Lab Trainer test by clicking quickly and accurately with their dominant hands. The physical performance practice to be applied both in this group and in the Motor Imagery and Physical Performance Combination Group is the same and will be applied in the same way for 8 weeks

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Being between the ages of 18-30: This age range was chosen because it is the age group with the highest number of e-sports players. After the age of 30, both the number of e-sports players decreases and reaction times decrease with age, so researchers accepted the age of 30 as a cut-off value.
• Male gender: E-sportsmen are generally composed of men. In addition to the difficulty of reaching female e-sportsmen, female e-sportsmen will not be included since it is known that performance parameters evaluated in heterogeneous groups will lead to differences.
• Doing e-sports for at least 6 hours or more per week for at least 6 months.

Exclusion Criteria

Without Study

• Having any neurological, visual or auditory impairment,
• Having undergone any upper extremity surgery,
• Those who meet the recruitment criteria but are unable to come to the laboratory Those who used any medication or performance-enhancing dietary supplement in the month before the study Exclusion from the Evaluation Day in the Study: Participants will be questioned verbally before the evaluation and participants who do not meet the criteria will not be evaluated that day. After 1 day, they will be re-evaluated.
• Taking medication known to have stimulant or sedative effects
• Consumption of alcohol at least 24 hours before
• Consuming caffeine at least 8 hours before Exclusion from Intervention Groups: Participants who violate these criteria during the intervention will be excluded from the study.
• Those who take part in the intervention groups and are absent 20% or more
• Changes in initial physical activity categories according to the results of the International Physical Activity Scale Short Form

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 30 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ozan Bahadır Turkmen

Research Assistant

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

Bandırma, Balıkesir, Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

2024-18-28

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id