Relationship Between Physical Fitness Variables and Reaction Time in eSports Gamers

Abstract

eSports gaming requires quick and accurate reactions in response to complex visual stimuli for optimal performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between components of physical fitness and reaction time (RT) in eSports gamers. 27 eSports gamers participated. Visit 1 included physical fitness assessments. Visit 2 included a familiarization with the Stroop Task. During Visit 3, subjects completed the Stroop Task again; data from this visit was used for analyses. For congruent, incongruent and control trials, an inverse efficiency score (IES) was calculated. Pearson correlations were used to determine the relationship between components of physical fitness and mean RT. There was a significant correlation between mean RT and cardiorespiratory fitness (r=-.338, p=.043). IES was significantly related to cardiorespiratory fitness in incongruent (r=-.373, p=.028) and control (r=-.333, p=.045) trials. Results suggest that increased cardiorespiratory fitness can improve reaction time and also induce greater efficiency.