Study Says Gamers Get Less Sleep Than Others

Keane Ng

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Study Says Gamers Get Less Sleep Than Others



New research from the University of Arkansas says that self-identified "excessive" gamers get less sleep and suffer from poor sleep hygiene compared to non or "casual" gamers.

It doesn't take the kind of person who has ever passed out in the middle of the day thanks to a marathon Diablo II session the night before to know that gamers sometimes get less sleep than other, "normal" people. Because really, when you just have a feeling that Andariel is totally going to drop a Stone of Jordan, who needs to sleep?

Well it might not just be a difference between people who play games and people who don't. A new study [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090608071802.htm] from the University of Arkansas argues that people who specifically identify themselves as "excessive" gamers get less sleep than so-called casual and non-gamers alike.

So what constitutes being an "excessive gamer?" Well, by the study's standards, anyone who plays more than seven hours a week and who identify themselves as addicted to games (people are admitting to this without qualms, apparently) could be considered excessive gamers.

"Our statistics revealed that those who admitted addiction scored higher on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (sleepiness)," said Amanda Woolems, who conducted the research. "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 people who admitted that gaming gets in the way of their snooze time slept 1.6 hours less than others, while people who identified themselves as addicts slept one hour less on weekdays. "Excessive" gamers spend less time in bed, have "longer sleep latency and shorter REM latency," which measures how long it takes for you to reach a certain state of sleep. Reaching REM [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_eye_movement_sleep] too quickly is apparently a sign of sleep disorders like narcolepsy.

That doesn't sound too healthy, but I doubt that anything will stop dedicated gamers from getting their game on at the expense of their bodily health. At least in Diablo II I could always just turn my bots on and go to sleep. Yeah, I cheated, but it was for the sake of my health.

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

(Image [http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/379698434_a92515ea51.jpg?v=0])


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The Shade

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A resounding "Duh" echoes out from the gaming populace.

Keane Ng said:
"Excessive" gamers spend less time in bed.
I lie in my bed while I play games, though. So I probably get more.

Also, since I'm on holidays and currently jobless, I have infinite time to sleep during the day. I spend my summers being nocturnal.
 

Megacherv

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Sep 24, 2008
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Since I only go into school tomorrow and that's it, I can have a lot more lie-ins, so that point may be proven wrong over the next 11 weeks.
 

johnman

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7 hours a week? Thats awfully low, more than an hour a day of gaming means that we are excessive.
I would say over 6 a day is excessive and thats because its almost to fit a regualr life around that and not harm your sleep.
 

Armored Prayer

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Interesting.

I spend more than seven hours playing my games, but I manage to get my eight hours of sleep and wake up refreshed.

What would that be categorized as?
 

Keane Ng

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"I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death."

If only I'd been able to work that quote into this story...
 

Abedeus

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johnman said:
7 hours a week? Thats awfully low, more than an hour a day of gaming means that we are excessive.
I would say over 6 a day is excessive and thats because its almost to fit a regualr life around that and not harm your sleep.
Yeah. By that definition, my mom who works on the computer a lot (she's a teacher, so she has to type in everything into Word, write about every stupid kid something...) and often 2-3 hours a day every day is super-addicted.

6 a day is excessive. 7 a week? Never. That's as casual as it's going to be.
 

Dogstile

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WrongSprite said:
7 hours a week! HAHAHAHA

I can manage that in a day.
i heard that, my past week i've been gaming 10 hours a day because i've not gamed in a while

and i get more sleep than most people!
 

Skreeee

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An hour a day is excessive? What's casual then? 15 minutes?

I was first just going to post "Well duh", but the numbers don't make sense to me. One hour of gaming wouldn't even be a dent in the more productive things I could have done in the other 23, and I have a job to consider in all of it as well.
 

MrPop

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Ahh Sick. I was wondering when I could get a high score in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale! Awesome!

But seriously I love it when people release these studies that recieve a resounding "D'Uh" from everyone.
 

ssgt splatter

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Oct 8, 2008
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REALLY?
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!
OMG!
WHO KNEW?!
WOW, MY MIND IS BLOWN!

Uhh, yeah did they really conduct a study to prove something that a 5 year old could've told them?
 

EMFCRACKSHOT

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May 25, 2009
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WrongSprite said:
7 hours a week! HAHAHAHA

I can manage that in a day.
We can all manage that. Its fantastic. As someone already said, you can sleep when you're dead (not me, i'll be too busy playing mass effect 2. Even if i am a zombie)
 

Raregolddragon

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Oct 26, 2008
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How is this news... why is someone spending time and money on this.

You know what this is why the US is in dept fucking stupid R&D projects on humans!