Effect of 4-week cup stacking training on stress levels in e-sports players
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v81.119594Keywords:
Cup stacking training, amylase concentration, stress levels, e-sportAbstract
Introduction: The rapid growth of the e-sports industry presents many new challenges that e-sports athletes may face, including levels of anxiety and their impact on mental health.
Objective: This experimental study used pre-and post-intervention assessments to examine the effect of 4-week cup stacking training on stress levels.
Methodology: The sample consisted of 20 male e-sports players from Surindra Rajabhat University, aged 18-25, who were training for competition. The group was randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 10; height 173.40 ± 6.45 cm; weight 65.54 ± 12.01 kg; experience 4.16 ± 1.51; stress levels 51.20 ± 7.25 KU/L) that performed in cup stacking 3 days a week for 4 weeks and a control group (n = 10; height 173.90 ± 5.70 cm; weight 68.81 ± 12.69 kg; experience 3.97 ± 1.63 years; stress levels 46.20 ± 7.57 KU/L) that performed with a normal e-sports program. Pre-and post-test, all participants were tested for stress levels to assess the concentration of salivary alpha-amylase using the Cocoro meter saliva amylase samples.
Results: After the experiment, it was found that the experimental group had a significantly reduced stress level than before the experiment. When comparing between groups, it was found that the experimental group had a significantly different stress level than the control group (p < 0.05).
Discussion: The results of this study indicate that the experimental group, which received cup stacking training, was able to better control and reduce their stress levels than the control group after 4 weeks.
Conclusions: The training model used in this study can be applied to help e-sports players self-regulate emotions and reduce potential long-term stress levels.
References
Abbott, C., Watson, M., & Birch, P. (2022). Perceptions of effective training practices in league of legends:
a qualitative exploration. J. Electron. Gaming Esports, 1(1), 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2022-0011
Bonnaire, C., & Baptista, D. (2019). Internet gaming disorder in male and female young adults: The role
of alexithymia, depression, anxiety and gaming type. Psychiatry Res, 272, 521–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.158
Brunborg, G. S., Mentzoni, R. A., & Froyland, L. R. (2014). Is video gaming, or video game addiction, associated with depression, academic achievement, heavy episodic drinking, or conduct problems? J Behav Addict, 3(1), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.3.2014.002
Fatemi, S. M., Abdoshahi, M., & Miletic, V. (2024). The effect of online training of competitive domino and cup stacking games on mindfulness, emotion regulation and executive functions of children. J Motor Control Learn, 6(2), e148666. https://doi.org/10.5812/jmcl-148666
Gibbons, E., Hendrick, J. L., & Bauer, J. A. (2007). Distribution of practice on cup stacking performance.
Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 78(1), A46-A47.
Gouttebarge, V., Castaldelli-Maie, J. M., Gorczynski, P., Hainline, B., Hitchcock, M. E., Kerkhoffs, G. M., Rice,
S. M., & Reardon, C. (2019). Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br. J. Sports Med. 53(11), 700–706. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100671
Greitemeyer T. (2015). Everyday sadism predicts violent video game preferences. Pers Individ Dif, 75, 19–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.049
Hammen, C. (2005). Stress and depression. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 1, 293-319.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143938
Higo, Y., & Kuruma, H. (2021). Effects of lower-limb muscle fatigue cardiopulmonary fatigue and brain
fatigue tasks on one-legged landing motion. Phys Ther Res, 24(3), 264-271. https://doi.org/10.1298/ptr.E10104
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Internet gaming addiction: a systematic review of empirical research.
Int. J. Ment. Health Addict, 10, 278–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-011-9318-5
Lee, S., Bonnar, D., Roane, B., Gradisar, M., Dunican, I. C., Lastella, M., Maisey, G., & Suh, S. (2021). Sleep
characteristics and mood of professional esports athletes: a multi-national study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020664
Leis, O., Lautenbach, F., Birch, P. D., & Elbe, A. -M. (2022). Stressors, perceived stress responses, and
coping strategies in professional esports players: A qualitative study. International Journal of Esports, 3(3), 1-22. https://www.ijesports.org/article/76/html
Lundqvist, C., & Andersson, G. (2021). Let's talk about mental health and mental disorders in elite sports:
a narrative review of theoretical perspectives. Front Psychol, 12(700829), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700829
Luo, Y., Hutchinson, J. C., O’Connell, C. S., & Sha, Y. (2022). Reciprocal effects of esport participation and
mental fatigue among chinese undergraduate students using dynamic structural equation modeling. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 62(102251), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102251
Mortimer, J., Krysztofiak, J., Custard, S., & Mckune, A. J. (2011). Sport stacking in auditory and visual
attention of grade 3 learners. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 113(1), 98-112. https://doi.org/10.2466/05.11.25
Naidoo, R., & Moodley, K. (2018). The short-term effects of a sport stacking intervention on the cognitive
and perceptual motor functioning in geriatrics: a pilot study. S Afr J Sports Med, 30(1), 1-6. http://doi.org/10.17159/2078-516X/2018/v30i1a4267
Pereira, A. M., Costa, J. A., Verhagen, E., Figueiredo, P., & Brito, J. (2022). Associations between esports
participation and health: a scoping review. Sport. Med, 52, 2039–2060. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01684-1
Pereira, A. M., Teques, P., Verhagen, E., Gouttebarge, V., Figueiredo, P., & Brito, J. (2021). Mental health
symptoms in electronic football players. BMJ Open Sport Exerc. Med, 7(e001149), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2021-001149
Poulus, D. R., Coulter, T. J., Trotter, M. G., & Polman, R. (2022b). Longitudinal analysis of stressors, stress, coping and coping effectiveness in elite esports athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 60(102093), 1-11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102 093
Poulus, D. R., Bennett, K. J., Swann, C., Moyle, G. M., & Polman, R. C. (2023). The influence of an esports-adapted coping effectiveness training (E-CET) on resilience, mental health, and subjective performance among elite league of Legends players: A pilot study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 69(102510). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102510
Schary, D. P., Jenny, S. E., & Koshy, A. (2022). Leveling up esports health: current status and call to action.
Int. J. Esports 1(1), 1–16. https://www.ijesports.org/article/70/html
Smith, M. J., Birch, P. D. J., & Bright, D. (2019). Identifying stressors and coping strategies of elite esports
competitors. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 11(2), 22–39. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGCMS.2019040102
Strike, P. C., & Steptoe, A. (2003). Systematic review of mental stress-induced myocardial ischaemia.
European heart journal, 24(8), 690-703. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0195-668x(02)00615-2
Trotter, M. G., Coulter, T. J., Davis, P. A., Poulus, D. R., & Polman, R. (2021). Social support, self-regulation
and psychological skill use in e-athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(722030), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722030
Udermann, B. E., Murray, S. R., Mayer, J. M., & Sagendorf, K. (2004). Influence of cup stacking on hand-
eye coordination and reaction time second-grade students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 98(2), 409-414. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.98.2.409-414
Yang, Z., Yang, J., Doris, S. F. Y., Liu, D., & Ding, F. (2024). Effects of sport stacking on cognition in patients
with mild alzheimer’ s disease and MCI: Preliminary findings of randomized controlled trial. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 37(1), 24-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/08919887231195227
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Manatsiri Khongrassame, Narong Jomkokkruad, Lertwanlop Srisaphonphusitti, Manoch Phangkul, Ashira Hiruntrakul, Sirisuda Phonthee, Charee Jansupom
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
