A survey study commissioned by the Russian research center Kaspersky showed that mental health safety is one of the biggest factors influencing professional gamers.
The study revealed that 36% of gaming and e-sports professionals in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa region are more concerned regarding their psychological state than other gamers.
Professional electronic gamers pay great attention to healthy habits and lifestyles, according to the study, which showed that 35% of them take care of proper mental preparation, and 26% make sure to get enough sleep.
In contrast, 48% of gaming and eSports professionals would prefer to continue playing to improve performance rather than taking more breaks to sleep or eat healthy.
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Winchester on predicting mental health disorders among players practicing electronic sports, these disorders are widespread among them, and at a similar level to practitioners of other professional sports such as football.
The results also showed that professional gamers can experience sleep problems, fatigue and social phobia.
The survey proved that professional gamers are more concerned regarding mental health than others, and that 88% of electronic game professionals believe that a sense of health and wellness is necessary to achieve high performance in games.
Professional players also take more responsibility for their health and are mostly concerned with healthy habits, with 26% interested in getting enough sleep, 35% keen to be mentally prepared, and 26% said they take time off to move their bodies as much as possible.
And 48% of electronic sports and game professionals see the importance of taking time to rest, a sleep break, or eating healthy food to improve their performance.
In comparison, 64% of top gaming influencers would rather keep playing than take breaks.
Marina Titova, Vice President of Consumer Products Marketing at Kaspersky, described the level of competition in electronic game tournaments as “extreme”, noting that it sometimes reaches the level of competition in real sports.
She said: “Professional players spend a lot of time fully preparing for the game in order to reach advanced levels in it, as personal and software skills, in addition to the technical skills of the game, play a major role in winning.
The survey also shows that 82% of gaming professionals believe that winning is related to the mental health of the player.”
The report recommends the following measures to maintain a high level of performance and security within the gaming system:
Using a strong and reliable security solution will be beneficial to you, especially if it will not slow down your computer while you are gaming. But at the same time, it will protect you from every possible cyber threat.
Be wary of phishing campaigns and unfamiliar players, and it’s best to double check the website the player is being directed to via a link in an email, and the file extension attached to it.
Make sure to buy games from official websites only, taking advantage of discounts because they happen regularly.
Avoid buying any new game as soon as it’s released, even during the Steam Summer Sale, and make sure to read reviews and ratings before buying less popular games. If an offer appears to be unbelievable, it is likely to be a scam.
Trusted security solutions can support certain game modes. For example, the “Game” and “Do Not Disturb” modes in new Kaspersky solutions are automatically turned on while users are playing games, watching movies or making video calls, and then turn them off when they are finished. The related mode automatically activates itself when using apps for work, study or play, and hides tasks and notifications, so users only receive security alerts when they’re important and they should pay attention.
The report identified the following categories of players:
Esports professionals
This category considers gaming performance as critical or very important, and people in this category have participated in tournaments at least once in the past two years, and they either make income from the games or make some money playing them.
Esports enthusiasts
They have participated in tournaments at least once in the past two years and would like to participate in more tournaments and competitions, but they are not looking for opportunities to make money from playing the game.
Hardworking players
They play at least 20 hours a week.
Interested in gaming computer parts.
They invest a high or very high amount of money to improve gaming performance (this includes computer hardware, training, or nutrition)
influencers
They broadcast live via internet platforms at least once a month; And they have at least 1,000 followers.
The best influencers in gaming
They broadcast live via online platforms at least once a week, and have at least 10,000 followers.
