Does Physical Reaction Time Training Improves Reaction Time in E-sports?

Sitting for extended periods of time while in front of the computer can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, and while physical activity promotes health, there is ongoing debate about its impact on e-sports performance. Considering that exercise is proven to bolster cognitive functions like reaction time, this study investigated physical reaction time training's effect on e-sports players’ reaction time. This experimental study involved twenty Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)’s e-sport athletes. They were divided into two groups which are Training (T) and Control (C) groups. Both groups were required to undergo a pre-test and post-test of reaction time using the Aimlab application. After the pre-test, the T group must undergo physical reaction time training and the C group acted as a control for four weeks, followed by the post-test. Mean differences between pre-test and post-test reaction time scores in both groups were compared using a pair t-test analysis, meanwhile, mean changes of pre-test and post-test between T and C groups were compared using an independent t-test analysis. Findings show that there were significant differences between pre-test and post-test scores of reaction time in the T group (0.43 s ± 0.02 vs. 0.26 s ± 0.02, P < 0.001) but not in the C group (0.43 s ± 0.03 vs. 0.44 s ± 0.04, P > 0.05). Additionally, there were also significant differences in the mean changes of pre-test and post-test scores between T and C groups (−0.172 s vs. 0.004 s, P < 0.001). As the findings showed that the T group experienced significant decreases in the Aimlab test after the four-week physical reaction time training, this indicates that the training improves reaction time in e-sport players.