A new study presented at the twenty-third Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, SLEEP 09, says that those who play computer or console video games for an excess of seven hours a week and are aware of their gaming addiction, sleep less during weekdays. The study also suggests that such gamers experience more prominent all-round sleepiness than do casual gamers or non-gamers.
“Our statistics revealed that those who admitted addiction scored higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (sleepiness),” comments principal investigator at the University of Arkansas, Amanda 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.”
Data was collected from 137 students at the university, of which a majority, 86, were women. The mean age of the subjects in the study was 22 years and gamers were placed in the casual or excessive category based on how many hours a week they played video games. More than seven hours a week was considered excessive. 12.6 percent of the students admitted to being addicted to gaming while 10.81 percent noted that their sleep was affected by gaming.
Gamers who claimed to be gaming addicts slept an hour less than other gamers, while those who said that gaming caused interference with their sleep patterns, slept on an average, 1.6 hours less on weekdays.