Insomnia and Life Satisfaction in Esports Players: Examining Mindfulness and Loneliness as Serial Mediators

Background: This study aimed to understand how insomnia problems experienced by esports athletes affect their life satisfaction and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects. It is thought that psychological factors such as mindfulness and loneliness may mediate the relationship between insomnia and life satisfaction. Understanding the insomnia experienced by esports athletes and reducing the effects of these problems is important to increase their performance and improve their health and well-being. Methods: The study data were obtained from 340 participants, 297 (87.4%) male and 43 (12.6%) female, with an average age of 18.90 (sd=2.35). The explored the serial mediating roles of mindfulness and loneliness between insomnia and life satisfaction in esports athletes and correlational research derived from quantitative methods. Furthermore, the convenience sampling method was chosen for data collection. Results: The findings illuminate a nuanced interplay among insomnia, mindfulness, loneliness, and life satisfaction in the context of esports athletes. Life satisfaction was found to be negatively correlated with both insomnia and loneliness, and positively correlated with mindfulness, indicating that higher levels of insomnia and loneliness are associated with lower life satisfaction, whereas greater mindfulness correlates with higher life satisfaction. Conclusions: This study focused on the psychological interaction of insomnia, mindfulness, loneliness, and life satisfaction in esports athletes. Its approach this study thus fills a significant gap in both the esports psychology literature and the practical management of esports athletes' mental health, positioning itself as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in the intersection of competitive sports.