Washington: Video gamers are likely to delay their bedtime by about 100 minutes to continue playing, according to a new US study that strongly supports the inclusion of gaming as an addictive behaviour.
The study shows that on an average, gamers delayed going to bed 36 per cent of the nights they played video games. Average game playing was 4.6 nights per week. The average delay in bedtime on the nights spent gaming was 101 minutes. "These finding provide further insight into factors that influence individuals' decision making when determining if they should get sufficient sleep," said Brandy M Roane, assistant professor at the University of North Texas Health
Science Centre in the US.
"Our data shows that video gaming is quite an important factor that frequently leads to missed sleep for 67 per cent of gamers," said Roane. "Additionally, the reasons provided by gamers for their choice to delay their bedtime strongly supports the inclusion of video gaming as an addictive behaviour," he said. The study included online surveys from 963 gamers. Participants were from the US with an average age of 28.7 years, who played video games at least once the previous week.
Questions asked about demographics, gaming consoles, game genres, gaming frequency and duration. The study was published in the journal Sleep.
