Exzessiver Videospielkonsum bei jungen Erwachsenen: Einfluss auf den Schlaf und das deklarative Gedächtnis sowie die Hormone Melatonin und Cortisol

Introduction Media and digital games play an important part in today’s society. Especially adolescents use their smartphone and computer every day. An important role in the usage can be assigned to videogames and in particularly violent videogames. As a result, a huge part of the day is spent in front of a screen and sleep is oftentimes neglected. The question arises if excessive video gaming causes effects for adolescents. This study considers the effects of video gaming of five hours for sleep, the declarative memory, the hormones melatonin and cortisol and the sleepiness on the next day. Methods Twenty 16-18 aged males were part of the study while eighteen boys completed the whole study. In sum they spent three nights in the Sleep Laboratory in Marburg. During the first night there was just a familiarization. While the other two nights the study participants were asked to play the computer game “Counter Strike - Global Offensive” or the board game “Monopoly”. A polysomnography was measured over the whole time of playing and the following night. All subjects underwent a wordlist memory test with a recall directly after the stimulus and on the next morning. In addition to that saliva samples were taken for five times (before the game, during the game, after the game, during the night and on the following morning). The samples were analyzed for melatonin and cortisol. The next morning the Stanford Sleepiness Scale was filled up and the pupillography sleepiness test was performed. Furthermore, each study participant passed a long-lasting and repetitive vigilance test. Results After playing video games, the sleep efficiency was reduced significantly (3.5 %). The subjects were more awake in bed (15.5 minutes). Furthermore, the N1-sleep was prolonged and deeper sleep stages were reached later. The results of the wordlist memory test were significantly reduced after the videogame on the next morning. The subjects reproduced two words less. A recall of the wordlist directly after the stimulus also showed a significantly reduced performance after the videogame. In addition to that, the concentration of the soporific hormone melatonin was reduced after the computer game before bedtime and the concentration of cortisol was increased during the game. There was no significant difference between the video game and monopoly game in the range of vigilance. Discussion This study shows that excessive video gaming has got an effect on the sleep of adolescents. Nevertheless, the study participants were not more tired after the video game than after the board game on the next morning. That’s why it is disputable if these results play a role in the daily life of adolescents. An imaginable scenario is the accumulation of the mentioned effects. Adolescents often play video games for several hours for many times a week. It is possible that bad sleep can augment and the adolescents get more and more tired and less efficient. The worse memory performing shows that pupils should reconsider their evening activities after a day of learning at school. Melatonin was reduced after the videogame before bedtime and was postponed over the night. On the one hand this could be caused by the blue light of computer screens, on the other hand a correlation with a stressful computer game is possible. The highest post-videogaming melatonin concentration was measured at the next morning. This could cause a greater risk for sleep disorders in adolescents. To our knowledge this is the first study that examined and proved an higher concentration of cortisol during videogames. In addition to that, virtual reality can be used daily. This new way of being part of the game can demand and influence the body in a new manner.