Sleep Loses Out for Many Hooked on Video Games

Willingness to delay bedtime may point to addiction, researchers say

By Robert Preidt

Friday, June 17, 2016

FRIDAY, June 17, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Are video games like "Bloodborne," "Fallout" and "Call of Duty" worth losing sleep over? For plenty of gamers, the answer is yes.

A new study of almost 1,000 gamers finds many will sacrifice sleep to continue playing, suggesting video games are addictive for some people, the researchers said.

"Our data shows that video gaming is quite an important factor that frequently leads to missed sleep for 67 percent of gamers," said study lead author Brandy Roane, director of the Sleep Research Lab at the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

"Additionally, the reasons provided by gamers for their choice to delay their bedtime strongly supports the inclusion of video gaming as an addictive behavior," Roane said in an American Academy of Sleep Medicine news release.

Researchers analyzed online survey results from 963 gamers in the United States, average age 29, who said they had played video games in the previous week.

On average, the gamers delayed going to bed 36 percent of the nights they played video games. The average delay was 101 minutes. They played video games close to five nights a week on average, the researchers found.

While the study can't prove that playing games into the wee hours means you're hooked, it suggests a possible link between the two.

"These findings provide further insight into factors that influence individuals' decision making when determining if they should get sufficient sleep," Roane said.

The findings were published in the journal Sleep and presented June 13 at a meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Denver.

SOURCE: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, news release, June 13, 2016

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