Frankfurt / Germany, November 2nd, 2021. As “Official Sleep Expert Cooperation Partner” of FC Schalke 04 Esports, Emma – The Sleep Company has supported the League of Legends team and conducted a pioneering study to determine the effects of sleep on professional esports athletes’ performance and well-being throughout the last months. Individual sleep consultation by Emma increased sleep duration and sleep quality for the majority of the professional esports players. At the same time, a relationship between sleep and reaction time as well as emotional well-being of the team was identified.
Emma – The Sleep Company follows its mission to improve people’s lives through optimized sleep. The in-house ‘Sleep Research Team’ is dedicated to profound sleep research and increasingly focuses on collaborations with relevant partners. The first step is a pioneering study in collaboration with the FC Schalke 04 Esports team: professional esports athletes progressively optimize their daily routine and training for better competitive performance. Restful sleep plays a key role for the required cognitive abilities. There is hardly any scientific evidence in this area so far. Emma wanted to change that and provides first, insightful results, which underline the influence and importance of sleep.
“Esports offers tremendous potential for us to develop our sleep research. We can study sleep in the players’ natural environment and thus provide them with individual sleep expertise for optimal support”, said Dr Verena Senn, Neurobiologist and Head of Sleep Research at Emma – The Sleep Company.
Study results: best performance corresponds with increased sleep quality
Comparing the mean values of sleep duration at the beginning and at the end of the intervention, it can be seen that the majority of the players were sleeping longer in the last days than before. The results of the case study suggest that sleep impacts the performance and well-being of the esports team positively.[1] A relationship between sleep quality and individual performance in the game was found. The best performance coincided with better overall sleep quality for the majority of the team.
These findings emphasize the relevance of improving sleep for the performance and well-being of professional athletes. “In particular, excellent reaction times and a strong visual working memory are important for esports teams to be faster than their opponents. Yet our emotions form another key factor for the esports gameplay as they can turn the tide
between victory and defeat. This pioneering study proved that sleep is crucial to improve these factors. This can also serve as inspiration for athletes in other sports to consider sleep as an essential part of their training program,” continued study supervisor Theresa Schnorbach, psychologist and sleep scientist at Emma.
Method: individual sleep consultation and an optimized sleep environment as basis
During the partnership period, the Emma Sleep Research Team guided five professional esports athletes of FC Schalke 04’s League of Legends (LoL) team for an eight-week sleep intervention. Core components of this pioneer project included individual sleep consultation sessions and optimizing their sleep environment through innovative sleep products, for example the smart mattress Emma Motion. Sleep duration of the team was recorded by sleep trackers, whereas questionnaires were used to assess their sleep quality and emotional experience. The findings were compared with the competitive performance indicator of the players.
“The individual consultation sessions were especially important to improve their sleep. Sleep is individual and every professional esports player in the team had different sleep habits and needs, where we carefully paid attention to. This collaboration was a first good step to determine the effects of sleep on top performers. Currently, we are planning and expanding such partnerships for further sports areas, too,” commented Schnorbach.
More information: Emma – The Sleep Company improves sleep of the FC Schalke 04 Esports Team – YouTube
About Emma – The Sleep Company (Emma Sleep GmbH):
Emma – The Sleep Company is a founder-managed company and with 1.5 million mattresses sold in 2020 the world’s leading Direct-to-consumer sleep brand. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Dennis Schmoltzi and Manuel Mueller, the sleep company is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, with additional locations in Manila (Philippines), Lisbon (Portugal) and Shanghai (China). In 2020, the company achieved a turnover of EUR 405 million (USD 494.7 million), a growth rate of 170% from the previous year. On July 1, 2020, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH group acquired 50.1 percent of Emma – The Sleep Company.
The flagship product is the Emma® bed-in-a-box, which is currently available in 30+ countries. The mattress is sold directly to consumers offering a diversified customer experience that includes several digital touchpoints as well as about 3,000 stores. The successful omnichannel strategy has been enabled by partnerships with several retailers.
Emma’s research and development team are leaders in sleep technology. The team of over 30 people develops innovative products that make a positive impact on people’s lives by enhancing their sleep. In doing so, Emma launched the world’s most advanced smart mattress: Emma Motion. To scale the business and innovate as fast as possible, Emma’s 700+ team members are constantly creating and implementing new concepts to optimize everything from their global supply chains to marketing and sales. The company keeps its sharp competitive edge by staying agile, discovering pragmatic solutions to challenges, and maintaining a digital mindset. The team celebrates and encourages diversity in all areas: diversity of thought, character, ideas, and background.
For more information about the company, please visit emma-matratze.de
Press Contacts: Lukas Schuez HOSCHKE & CONSORTEN Public Relations GmbH Tel.: +49 40 36 90 50-32 E-Mail: l.schuez@hoschke.de
Max Lange HOSCHKE & CONSORTEN Public Relations GmbH Tel.: +49 40 36 90 50-34 E-Mail: m.lange@hoschke.de
Presse Contact FC Schalke 04 Esports GmbH:
E-Mail: esports@schalke04.de
Contact for Sleep Consultation by Emma:
Dr. Verena Senn, Neurobiologist and Head of Sleep Research
E-Mail: Verena.Senn@emma-sleep.com
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