“Indoor air quality is instrumental in helping esports athletes perform at their very best”: Dr. Srikanth Sola, CEO, and Co-founder at Devic Earth

The discussion behind the health issues of esports athletes in India has majorly been that of misinformation and ignorance on the very subject matter.

The very fact that professional video gamers can have the same physiological and psychological ramifications of their occupation is often overlooked by many. And as the industry is slowly progressing towards becoming a mainstream market and profession, conversations need to arise among stakeholders on spreading awareness of some of the biggest evils in esports.

In an interview with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Dr. Srikanth Sola, CEO and Co-founder at Devic Earth, opened up about some of the biggest issues that professional video games athletes face today. He talks about the benefits of improving indoor air quality, and how a clean work environment is instrumental in helping players be at the top of their performance.

Here is an excerpt of the conversation.

Q. Sir, you have been a very strong advocate of air pollution being one of the biggest evils when it comes to maintaining a safe work environment. Keeping that in mind, what would you say are some of the major air-related health hazards that athletes in India face today, may it be in the field of regular Sports or Esports?

Dr. Srikanth: Apart from babies and the elderly, athletes are the most prone to the ill effects of air pollution. When we exercise, we increase the amount of air that enters the lungs with each breath. During vigorous exercise, we breathe through our mouths, bypassing the normal filtration system of the upper airway.

The end result is that athletes take in far more air pollution than normal individuals. This has an immediate effect on athletic performance. Studies have found that air pollution adversely affects strength, endurance, agility, and speed - all important factors, considering that most sports are won or lost by a fraction of a second or the tiniest of distances.

If an esports professional wants to win, they absolutely have to pay attention to indoor air quality. Period.

Q. For an esports professional, what would you say are some of the major sources of air pollution in their lives? What are some of the countermeasures that a player, streamer, or organization should invest in for the betterment of their overall health?

Dr. Srikanth: There are several counter-measures that esports professionals, athletes, and others can take to reduce the effects of air pollution.

These include an air purification system, a healthy diet consisting of abundant fresh fruits and vegetables, good hydration, and exercise during the least polluted times of the day. These generally occur after 10 am and before 5 pm, depending on where one lives.

Q. Apart from health issues related to air, players are often subject to problems like Spondylitis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. What do you feel are some of the most effective prevention measures for the health hazards that gamers suffer from today?

Dr. Srikanth: Esports players are affected by a lot of health issues with Spondylitis and carpal tunnel syndrome being the bigger evils. Just like any pre-imposed game, stretching, exercise, and attention to form can help prevent such ailments, or accelerate recovery from these conditions.

Q. Devic Earth’s “Pure Skies” equipment has been a milestone breakthrough for the company when it comes to fighting air pollution. Talk to us a bit about the technologies that help Devic Earth be who they are today, as well as the organizations’ journey so far?

Dr. Srikanth: Devic Earth's pulsed Wi-Fi technology for clean air is a disruptive technology for improving air quality. The effect of the pulsed radio waves is to increase the negative charge on microscopic pollutants, accelerating their clearance from the air.

This provides several advantages including a large area coverage when several machines are linked together as a network, high degree of efficacy, and low cost.

Q. As one of the Stalwarts in the industry, I would love to pick your brain on some of the statistical success that air monitoring projects have had when it comes to improving the lives of esports athletes.

Dr. Srikanth: Air quality has been increasingly recognized as a major influencing factor in sports. Multiple organizations including the International Association of Athletics Federations, Major League Baseball, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the USA have postponed or even canceled sporting events due to poor air quality. Others have installed air quality monitors at athletic venues and taken remedial measures to minimize the generation of pollution.

This includes banning the use of diesel generators, augmenting public transport to discourage the use of private vehicles, and not hosting events when air quality is likely to be at its worst.

Q. Esports is still a growing industry in India, and it’s yet to be considered as a mainstream sport in the nation, even though it’s slowly inching towards that recognition. However, irrespective of its staggering development, there is still a lot of ignorance toward the health issues that esports athletes face today, Do you feel that there should be more awareness campaigns towards this, and industry leads should take up the initiative of helping the market be more sustainable not just in terms of revenue but health as well?

Dr. Srikanth: Esports is a growing industry in India, but there's still a lot of ignorance to health issues that esports athletes face today. Absolutely, increased awareness, training, and preventative programs can go a long way in mitigating the health risks that esports athletes face.

Q. Apart from physical health ailments, mental health issues have also become a growing concern for Esports athletes and content creators. What is your take on mental health among video game professionals and the impact that daily practice schedules and toxicity from the esports community have on them?

Dr. Srikanth: Mental health is absolutely important for peak performance, for athletes of all types. The tennis legend Serena Williams once noted that the match is won or lost even before it begins, based on the mental fitness of the athletes.

Augmenting mental health through sports psychology and other techniques can go a long way in improving performance and professional satisfaction, and avoiding burnout.