Scientists from California universities in Davis and Indiana conducted an interesting experiment, which were published in Cell Death & Differentation. The study included interaction of people with virtual reality and demonstrated that the virtual environment could significantly reduce the level of anxiety in humans.
Ocean Rift was used for the experiment, which reproduces a bright underwater world with its various inhabitants, such as dolphins, sharks, turtles and whales. The program was chosen as a relaxation environment because it was enough to have a smartphone, virtual reality mobile glasses, a controller and headphones.
The study was attended by 120 participants aged 18 to 54, who were divided into three groups by anxiety: low, moderate and elevated.
The analysis showed that for participants with low and moderate anxiety interaction with the VR environment did not affect statistically significantly on their emotions. However, participants with increased anxiety noted a significant decrease in the level of stress, improving mood and rest after interaction with the virtual world.
This experiment indicates the prospects for using VR technologies to reduce anxiety and improve mental state in humans.
