How Healthy are Competitive Computer Gamers?

Participants Required for UCT Research on the Health of Gamers

The Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at the University of Cape Town is recruiting volunteers for a research study exploring the cardiometabolic health and neurocognitive performance of competitive computer video gamers. If you consider yourself to be a gamer and have ever wondered how gaming impacts your mental performance or physical health – this study is for you. We would like to compare the competitive gamers to non-gamers, so if you do not participate in regular or competitive computer gaming – this study is for you too.

All volunteers will be asked to visit the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) on two occasions. During the first session they will complete questionnaires about their health and gaming habits. Body composition and blood pressure will be measured, and a small amount of blood drawn to assess risk for heart disease and diabetes. Participants will then wear a small sleep monitor on their wrist for the next 7 consecutive days while keeping a diary to assess their usual sleep habits. At the end of this week they will return to SSISA to complete a mood questionnaire and a battery of computerized tests to assess mental functioning and performance. The first session will take approximately 1.5h and the follow-up session about 1h.

Those interested in volunteering for this research should meet the following criteria:

• Male or female between the ages of 18 and 30 years old
• Resident in Cape Town
• Either a competitive computer gamer or a non-gamer
• Not suffer from any condition or take any medication known to affect sleep

Benefits of participating in the study include:

• Learn more about your own health and mental performance

To apply or for more information, please contact Chadley Kemp:

WhatsApp:         074 330 9617

E-mail:                  KMPCHA004@myuct.ac.za