Virtual Sanity: People that Use VR Headsets Enjoying Life More During Lockdown

 

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People who use video game headsets to pass the time during lockdown exercise more actively and have a more positive outlook on life.

A new study, led by the University of Portsmouth, examined the utilization of VR technology in adults of all ages from round the world.

It is one among the primary to research the impact of VR during the lockdown and is published within the journal Health and Technology.

The results were clear: Those that use VR headsets as a way of passing time during lockdown were using the headsets for far more than playing games. They exercised, meditated, socialized, and watched movies on the device.

“VR appears to have a striking and beneficial effect on people's mental and physical health during periods of forced lockdown,” said lead author Dr Alessandro Siani of the University's School of Biological Sciences.

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The feel-good effect was so marked, Dr. Siani suggests the technology could form a part of the arsenal of tools and methods to improve users’ mental and physical health.

He said: “The pandemic has been a watershed in human history and has had a dramatic negative impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

“Lockdowns have affected people of all ages globally. The isolation and stress have brought an increase within the number of individuals reporting stress, depression, irritability, insomnia, fear, confusion, anger, frustration, and tedium.

“At the same time, lockdowns impose a significant cost on people's wellbeing, with gyms closed and outdoor access severely limited.

“Both the emotional and physical tolls are high, and they aren't likely to go away until the lockdowns are lifted. Governments round the world will soon need to address the psychological state and physical wellbeing of citizens if they aren’t already.”

The study examined VR use by 646 people from 47 countries at the peak of the primary lockdown, in late May and early June 2020.

While most used their VR device most frequently for immersive gaming, they were also using it nearly as often to exercise and were exercising more vigorously compared to those that had a games console without VR capability.

Previous research showed people that who spent ten minutes each day watching a 3D 360-degree VR video felt less anxiety.

VR headsets have gone swiftly from being a distinct segment gadget for tech-savvy gamers to becoming significantly cheaper and far more widely used, including in homes, as entertainment, in education, business, and healthcare.

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The ability of a user wearing a VR headset to maneuver freely, instead of being glued to a settee, has driven a trend in so-called ‘exer-gaming’, but its use has grown beyond the profile of the standard gamer, and VR exercise software is now widely utilized in physical restoration and for the elderly.

Around three-quarters of those polled said their use of virtual reality (VR) increased during the lockdown.

When in a lockout, most people said they were doing it to pass the time. Virtual reality was used by nearly all – 98 percent – to play games for one to four hours a day. About 75% used it for fitness (and for an identical length of your time to gaming); 52% to socialize; 47% to observe films, and 37% to meditate.

A majority said VR activities gave them an alternate thanks to keeping fit and active while reception and nearly all said using the technology had a positive impact on their psychological state.

Dr. Siani said that, while this is often a preliminary study that supported participants’ self-assessment of their use of VR, further studies would be advisable to research the effect of VR use under monitored conditions to possess a more comprehensive view of its benefits. Even in the post-Covid-19 era, the findings of this study could serve as a stepping stone toward the introduction of VR-based interventions to support the population's mental and physical health.