New Study - Gamers Sleep Less than Non-Gamers

Void

Local Man Unable To Map, Sources Say
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Sep 14, 2008
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Kotaku said:
A research study at the University of Arkansas has indicated that excessive gaming interferes with sleep. Thank goodness that mystery has finally been solved.

Research studies sound like a great deal of fun. You get to arbitrarily assign values and definitions and then cull data based on those arbitrary assignments in order to get obvious answers! Take this University of Arkansas study, which was presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies on Monday, surveyed 137 students - 87 females and 50 non-females, you know, to preserve balance...somehow. They then separated the results for excessive gamers from the casual or non-gamers, defining excessive as those who spend more than 7 hours a week playing computer games or using the internet.

My mother spends over seven hours a week using the internet. By this study's standards, my mom is hardcore.

Principal investigator Amanda Woolems indicated that previous research has determined that excessive gamers spend less time in bed. True, though I'd say that depends on the frequency of save points in whatever game I might be playing at the time and whether or not I've fallen asleep in my recliner. This study's findings?
"Our statistics revealed that those who admitted addiction scored higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (sleepiness)," said Woolems. "It surprised us, however, that of the people who admitted being addicted to gaming, only about a third of them recognized an interference with their sleep."
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is based on a test in which you rate your likeliness to fall asleep in several different situations, such as reading a book, watching television, or stopped at a particularly long intersection. It's the sort of scale I'm surprised doesn't come into play more often, like when you're calling in sick for work. "Sorry, I'm about a 22 on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale boss."

As for the results, one has to look at the numbers to have them make more sense. The study found that only 12.6 people admitted to being addicted to gaming, while 10.81 reported that gaming interfered with their sleep. That's 17 and 15 people, rounded up. One also has to keep in mind that they are polling university students on their sleep habits, and basing their findings against the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's recommendation that adults get 8 hours of sleep per night and adolescents get 9. I'd say that to the vast majority of us, those numbers are a bit unrealistic. Eight hours of sleep is what I get if I pulled an all-nighter the previous evening. From what I remember of my college days...well let's just say I don't remember much, probably due in part to lack of sleep.

In case you were interested, those 15 people who reported that gaming interfered with their sleep spend 1.6 hours less than other gamers, while those 17 who claimed to be "addicted" slept one hour less on weekdays. To put that into perspective, between work gaming and recreational gaming, I probably average about 5 to 6 hours per night, though I generally average less during the weekdays, making up for lost sleep by falling asleep at particularly busy intersections.

Anyway, the study still stands. Excessive gaming, especially gaming that interferes with sleep, can make you tired...as can excessive listening to music, excessive watching of entire seasons of Weeds at 2am, and excessively writing up the results of research studies.

http://kotaku.com/5286938/gaming-instead-of-sleeping-makes-you-tired

Destructoid said:
I'll be damned. So everyone doesn't stay up into the wee hours of the morning playing games? It's just gamers? And that makes them tired?

Not to poo poo on anyone's research or anything, but I could have told you that. But this data, which is to be presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, gives us some hard numbers and facts.

It turns out that those that game over seven hours a week and those who call their habit a gaming addiction sleep less during the week than other gamers, about an hour less. Those who said gaming inteferes with their sleep lose about 1.6 hours a weeknight. It seems that "excessive gamers" spend less time in bed, have longer sleep latency and shorter REM latency. I don't know exactly what that means, but it sounds bad.

So now there's a correlation between hours of games played an sleepiness. And again, I say no shit.

*yawn*

http://www.destructoid.com/study-gamers-sleep-less-than-non-gamers-135660.phtml

Science Daily said:
ScienceDaily (June 8, 2009) — Computer/console gamers who play for more than seven hours a week and who identify their gaming as an addiction sleep less during the weekdays and experience greater sleepiness than casual or non-gamers, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday, June 8 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies

Results of the study indicate that excessive gamers have significantly poorer sleep hygiene and sleep less on weekdays than other gamers; a significant positive correlation was found between the hours of game play and sleepiness. Gamers who reported that their gaming interfered with sleep slept for 1.6 hours less than other gamers, while those who claimed to be addicted to gaming slept one hour less on weekdays.
According to principal investigator Amanda Woolems, at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, AR., previous research has shown that excessive gamers spend less time in bed, have longer sleep latency and shorter REM latency.
"Our statistics revealed that those who admitted addiction scored higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (sleepiness)," said Woolems. "It surprised us, however, that of the people who admitted being addicted to gaming, only about a third of them recognized an interference with their sleep."
The study examined data from 137 students recruited from the university who were enrolled in introductory psychology courses. Participants' mean age was 22 years and a majority of the sample was women (86). Gamers were classified as casual or excessive (those who spend more than seven hours a week using the internet and playing computer games), based on a demographic questionnaire and sleepiness was assessed subjectively through questionnaires. Of the total sample, 10.81 percent reported that gaming interfered with their sleep and 12.6 identified themselves as being addicted to gaming.
Authors of the study suggest that maladaptive sleep hygiene found among excessive gamers is a target for intervention to promote improved sleep.
The AASM recommends that adults get eight hours of sleep per night and that adolescents get nine hours. Tips to improve sleep hygiene are available at http://www.sleepeducation.com/Hygiene.aspx
Those who suspect that they might be suffering from a sleep disorder are encouraged to consult with their primary care physician or a sleep specialist at a sleep center accredited by the AASM.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608071802.htm

Survey Says... no shit!
 

StoneFrog

L6: Sharp Member
May 28, 2008
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So I guess this is yet another excuse the ESRB/soccer moms/people with too much free time on their hands can use to bash videogames?
 

TMP

Ancient Pyro Main
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Aug 11, 2008
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o_O

I wonder if I sleep negative hours.
omgwtf.png


(Total bullshit study, I game more hours than exist, and I sleep 9-12 hours a day :|)
 

NovaSilisko

L42: Life, the Universe and Everything
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Feb 3, 2009
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captain_obvious.jpg
 

MrAlBobo

L13: Stunning Member
Feb 20, 2008
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http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/epworth.html
the sleep scale is such utter garbage, under no circumstances would I ever fall asleep in the examples they have, so I score a 0 and apparently don't even rank on the scale
based on what they have I am getting more then enough sleep...but being able to get 5 hours of sleep is my average <_<
the last time I can recall getting 8 hours of sleep was something like 2-3 years ago...

so honestly...the fact that insomnia is not taken into account makes this instant fail off the start...
 

Cameron:D

L6: Sharp Member
Sep 28, 2008
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I scored zero for all of them - I don't feel any more tired than usual doing any of them....

AND HOW DO YOU PLAY 484 HOURS IN 2 WEEKS?!?!?!?!!?
Steam bugbug :)
 

Pianodan

L3: Member
Apr 11, 2009
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In other news, Pope is Catholic.

Next study: A comparative analysis of the preferred defecation locations of ursine animals.
 

Nineaxis

Quack Doctor
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May 19, 2008
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So who under the age of 50 and above the age of 12 spends less than seven hours on a computer each week? Hmmm?

Looks like America is composed of excessive gamers, who seem to manage to get enough sleep.
 

Spike

L10: Glamorous Member
Feb 13, 2008
716
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7 hours a week = hardcore gamming?

What a retard study.
 

MrAlBobo

L13: Stunning Member
Feb 20, 2008
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AND HOW DO YOU PLAY 484 HOURS IN 2 WEEKS?!?!?!?!!?
Steam bugbug :)

Well...if you haven't noticed steam has recently began logging time in the sdk as time playing hl2 occasionally, so time in the sdk counts toward both totals