Augmented Experiences: Investigating the Feasibility of Virtual Reality as Part of a Workplace Wellbeing Intervention

Abstract

This exploratory experiment tested the effect of two virtual reality (VR) relaxation interventions on measures of physiological arousal and affect, compared to a control. Forty-nine participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, all using the Oculus Rift. Participants wore a heart rate (HR) monitor and completed pre- and post-test surveys, including the positive and negative affect schedule, Likert-type and open feedback questions. Mixed repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant reductions in HR and affect over time across all conditions, with a significant interaction identified for the breathing condition’s effect on negative affect. Participants were able to identify feeling relaxation, as well as influencing factors. Further, the majority expected, and supported, the introduction of VR interventions in their workplace and/or college, with privacy being a common concern. These results demonstrate the potential of VR augmented relaxation interventions with recommendations for further study provided. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS VR can potentially provide wellbeing interventions with a uniquely immersive quality Results suggest interactive and immersive VR experiences may facilitate relaxation and reduce stress Participants believe there may be substantial benefits to having VR wellbeing interventions at work and college.

Virtual reality relaxation for the general population: a systematic review

“…Relaxation could still be attained with motion sickness Navarro-Haro et al [ 32 ] Spain 44 44 (28F) None 45.32 (13.20) HMD (Oculus Rift DK2); Dr. Linehan’s DBT ® Mindfulness Skills™ audios ( http://behavioraltech.org ); MSIGT Series GT72 Dominator ProG-1252 Gaming Laptop 6th Generation Intel Core i7 6700HQ (2.60 GHz) 16 GB Memory 1 TB HDD 512 GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 M 4 GB GDDR5 17.3" Windows 10 Home 64-Bit; Bose Q25 headphones; Visuals created/ copyrighted by BigEnvironments.com (Unity 3D software) Listen to one session of DBT mindfulness skills training instructions (either wise mind/ observing sound/ observing visual) while floating down a river with ripples, trees, boulders and mountains (10 min) None Demographics; meditation frequency; emotions VAS; MAAS; adaptation of Sense of Presence Questionnary, adaptation of CEQ, adaptation of ITC-SOPI 1 None After HMD, participants reported subjective improved mindfulness state and reduced negative emotional states. Participants reported significantly less sadness, anger, and anxiety, being significantly more relaxed, moderate to high “presence” in HMD, and showed high acceptance of HMD as a technique to practice mindfulness Naylor et al [ 29 ] Australia 49 16 (5F) in ‘SoundSelf’ condition 16 (10F) in breathing condition; 17 in ‘Rainy day’ condition (6F) 27.33 (6.96) Oculus ® Rift™ Development Kit 2 (Oculus VR, LLC, Menlo Park, CA, USA); Windows 7 laptop; ‘SoundSelf’ condition: 20-min of meditation program (SoundSelf alpha build 2015–06-10); Breathing condition: audio from guided breathing exercise (Cura smile YouTube channel (2013) “relaxation breathing guided”, 20 min), visuals generated using VisiR (version 0.7.5) from Valynx Studio (2015)); control condition: “Rainy Day Office Window” video (Jason Comerford Photography YouTube channel (2015), 20 min); Fitbit® Charge HRTM (Fitbit Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA) ‘Soundself’ condition: Look around a void of colourful lights and sounds with interactive and immersive features (20 min) Breathing condition: look around void of colourful lights and sound with graphic visuals changing colour/pattern in response to paired audio with no interactive features (20 min); ‘Rainy day condition’: Watch 2D screen with tree and leaves on rainy day with streetscape background (20 min) Demographics; PANAS; Stroop Test; HR; Likert scale questions; qualitative questions 1 None All HMD con...…”

“…Of these six studies, three compared natural virtual environments with urban virtual environments [ 19 , 27 , 28 ]. Two studies used guided meditation combined with audio-visual features [ 21 , 29 ], and one applied a drawing activity on a three-dimensional human-like model [ 30 ].…”

“…All indicated that VR is feasible to support and promote relaxation. Of these, five studies indicated that VR is cost-effective and is becoming widely accessible to the general public [ 22 , 25 , 26 , 29 , 32 ]; however, this mainly consisted of commenting on the cost-effectiveness of VR rather than using primary data to support their claims. Two RCTs indicated that the general population can benefit from the availability and affordability of VR to help alleviate and manage stress [ 22 , 25 ].…”

“…Two studies indicated that VR is a convenient and easy-to-use tool that supports wellbeing in the general population, particularly for those who have limited time [ 33 ] or cannot access the restorative benefits of nature [ 34 ]. Two studies reported minor limitations with regard to feasibility: in one study, a small number of participants reported physical difficulties with wearing the HMD [ 29 ] and another study reported that the weight of the HMD needs to be tolerable for VR relaxation to be feasible [ 35 ].…”

“…Six of the nineteen studies explicitly evaluated acceptability of VR relaxation. Of these studies, five supported the acceptability of HMD relaxation [ 27 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 35 ] and one study reported inconclusive results [ 34 ]. In general, participants found VR relaxation interventions positive, enjoyable, valuable [ 33 ], calming, and peaceful [ 35 ].…”