Abstract:
Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of both poor and normal sleep quality and to determine variables that may be associated with it among Malaysian adults who actively engage in video games. This study also aims to find the difference in association of sleep quality within hardcore and casual/mid-core gamers.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study including 5 sections to inquire various variables including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was deployed using Google Forms to collect information from 415 members of local online gaming servers. 15 local online gaming servers were identified, and approval was granted to promote the questionnaire among the members. Snowball sampling was used within these servers by interacting with people who left likes and comments on the promoting post.
Results:
The proportion of Malaysian adult gamers who scored PSQI index above 5 were 57.8% and were classified as having “poor sleep quality” and those who scored 5 and below were 42.2% and were classified as having “good sleep quality.” Variables that were significantly associated were perceived stress, in-game purchasing habits as well as snacking habits 2 hours before bed. Other factors in this study showed no significant association with sleep quality during the multivariate analysis. Hardcore gamers in terms of the frequency of gameplay were also significantly associated with lowered sleep quality when compared to casual/mid-core gamers.
Conclusion:
This study found the prevalence of poor sleep quality and normal sleep
quality was 57.8% and 42.2% respectively. Multivariate analysis disclosed the significant association between perceived stress was significantly associated with sleep quality. Also, in-game purchasing habits and snacking 2 hours prior to bedtime were significantly associated with varying sleep quality. Lastly, hardcore gamers are more likely to experience poor sleep quality when compared to casual/mid-core gamers.
Keywords: Sleep Quality, Adult Gamers, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Hardcore Gamers
