As a spectator it is hard to get an idea of the processes inside the body of a performing eSport player. From the outside they seem to sit and stare at the screen, barely move and casually communicate or perform minimal movements. On the inside they are very tensed and focused. We have measured heart rate- and stress in training and competition to get to know the performance of eSport professionals.
During competition, the heart rate of the players reached up to 180 beats per minute. Therefore eSports players can almost reach the stress level of a racing driver and clearly exceed other sports such as archery or chess. For this reason, the hearth and body of athletes need to be capable to handle this load.
Stress triggers chemical reactions in the human body, for example a change in cortisol levels. A higher cortisol level is therefore linked with a higher stress level. In our measurements, the players showed an increase in cortisol level of about one third right after the competition. This indicates that the body was exposed to high amounts of physiological stress. In order to withstand these high stress levels, the psyche and the body must be trained and prepared.
As a translation: “a healthy mind in a healthy body”. This means that the performance of the body and the psyche interact with each other. The results of our measurements show, that physical activity must not be missing in the everyday training routine of an eSport athlete.
