Psychological and physiological health outcomes of virtual reality-based mindfulness interventions: A systematic review and evidence mapping of empirical studies.
Digital health January 1, 2024 Alissa Wieczorek, Florian Schrank, Karl-Heinz Renner et al. 19 citations
A systematic review examined virtual-reality-based mindfulness interventions and their effects on psychological and physiological health. Psychological benefits included improved anxiety, mindfulness, emotions, stress, and sleep-related arousal. Physiological effects involved changes in heart rate, heart rate variability, pain, blood pressure, cortisol, and galvanic skin resistance. Most studies were single sessions lasting 5 or 10 minutes, often in nature-based virtual environments. Attention regulation was identified as a primary mechanism. More research has been conducted in the last six years, especially by North American and South Korean authors. The review calls for more rigorous, true-experimental studies and longer interventions to assess long-term effects.