Self-care matters – 36% of professional gamers in MENA, Turkiye, Africa worry about mental health condition

A new global survey conducted and released by Kaspersky on Tuesday explores the role of performance in gaming and their attitudes towards it.

The survey, commissioned by Kaspersky, revealed good mental health is one of the biggest factors affecting professional gamers, with eSport pros (36 percent in the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa region) most worried about their mental condition than other gamers. Pro gamers pay strong attention to healthy habits and lifestyle – 35 percent take care of proper mental preparation and 26 percent do not forget to get enough sleep. Only 48 percent of eSport pros would rather keep playing to improve performance than take more breaks for sleep or eat healthier food.

A recent study, devoted to the predictors of mental ill health in eSport amongst competitors, conducted by University of Winchester, showed that it is highly prevalent with eSports athletes at a level comparable to other professional sports, such as football. Results also show that pro gamers can face sleep issues, burnout, and social phobia anxiety.

The Kaspersky survey proves that professional gamers – more than others – worry about mental health, and 88 percent of eSport pros agree well-being is essential for top performance in gaming.

In addition, professional gamers are more responsibly treating their health. In particular, eSport pros mostly pay attention to healthy habits – 26 percent think about getting enough sleep, 35 percent do not forget about their mental preparation, and 26 percent taking breaks to move around when possible.

Also, 48 percent of eSport pros would not agree to keep playing, but instead will take more breaks for sleep or eating healthier food to improve their performance. In comparison, 64 percent of top gaming influencers would prefer playing than have healthy breaks.

“The competition level in gaming championships is extremely high, and sometimes is even like a real sport. To fight for leading positions, professional gamers spend a lot of time thoroughly preparing.” commented Marina Titova, Vice-President, Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky.

“In addition to the hard skills within specific games, soft skills play a big role in winning. Our survey research shows 82 percent of pro gamers agree that for them it’s mental well-being,”

Kaspersky has recently launched ‘hacker: HUNTER ‘Next Level’, a six-part documentary series in co-production with Euronews, devoted to online gaming, esports and the pertinent security issues around them. The episode ‘The Darker Side of Esports: How Players Cope Under Pressure’ is dedicated to the mental health challenges with which professional gamers have to cope. This episode is available on Tomorrow Unlocked channel via this link.

 

In order to maintain high-level computing performance and healthy system security, Kaspersky is recommending the following:

• A strong, reliable security solution will be a great help to you, especially if it will not slow down your computer while you’re playing. But at the same time, it will protect you from every possible cyberthreat.

• Beware of phishing campaigns and unfamiliar gamers. It is a good option to double-check the website you are redirected to via the link in the received email and the extension of a file you are going to open.

• It is safer to buy games only on official sites and wait for the sales — they regularly take place, so you won’t be sitting on your hands for long.
• Reliable security solutions can support specific modes, designed for gamers. For example, “Gaming” and “Do not Disturb” modes in new Kaspersky solutions turn on automatically while users are gaming, watching movies or on a video call, and turn off when they are done. When apps intended for work, study, or play are used, the relevant mode activates itself, to hide tasks and notifications. Users only receive critical security alerts when their attention is demanded.

Within the report, Kaspersky has defined the following gamers’ categories:

• eSports Pros

See gaming performance as extremely or very important; have participated in tournaments at least once in the last two years; are either building an income from gaming, or value making some money from it

• eSports Amateurs

Have participated in tournaments at least once in the last two years and like participating in tournaments and competitions; do not look for money making opportunities from their gaming

• Hardcore Gamers

Play at least 20 hours a week

• Gadget Gamers

Invest a high or very high sum of money to enhance their gaming performance (hardware / training / nutrition, etc.)

• Gaming Influencers

Stream at least once per month; have a minimum of 1,000 followers

• Top Gaming Influencers

Stream at least once per week and have at least 10,000 followers