Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 22;21(6):2219.
doi: 10.3390/s21062219.

Virtual Reality Customized 360-Degree Experiences for Stress Relief

Miguel A Vaquero-Blasco  1   2 , Eduardo Perez-Valero  2   3 , Christian Morillas  2   3 , Miguel A Lopez-Gordo  1   2
Affiliations

Virtual Reality Customized 360-Degree Experiences for Stress Relief

Miguel A Vaquero-Blasco et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The latest studies in virtual reality (VR) have evidenced the potential of this technology to reproduce environments from multiple domains in an immersive way. For instance, in stress relief research, VR has been presented as a portable and inexpensive alternative to chromotherapy rooms, which require an adapted space and are expensive. In this work, we propose a portable and versatile alternative to the traditional chromotherapy color-loop treatment through four different 360-degree virtual experiences. A group of 23 healthy participants (mean age 22.65 ± 5.48) were conducted through a single-session experience divided into four phases while their electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. First, they were stressed via the Montreal imaging stress task (MIST), and then relaxed using our VR proposal. We applied the Wilcoxon test to evaluate the relaxation effect in terms of the EEG relative gamma and self-perceived stress surveys. The results that we obtained validate the effectiveness of our 360-degree proposal to significantly reduce stress (p-value = 0.0001). Furthermore, the participants deemed our proposal comfortable and immersive (score above 3.5 out of 5). These results suggest that 360-degree VR experiences can mitigate stress, reduce costs, and bring stress relief assistance closer to the general public, like in workplaces or homes.

Keywords: EEG; emotions; stress; virtual reality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time flow of the experimental session. First, the participants completed a two-minute eyes-closed resting state period (RS1). This process was repeated at the last stage of the experimental procedure (RS2). Then, the participants were stressed through a test designed to induce psychological stress by means of arithmetical operations (MIST). Finally, they relaxed through a 360-degree virtual experience (RELAX) for 5 min. The experimental procedure lasted about 18 min. During the session, we performed multiple surveys to gather the self-perceived level of stress of the participants (T1–T8). MIST: Montreal imaging stress task.
Figure 2
Figure 2
In-game view screenshots of the different 360-degree scenarios. (a) Beach. (b) Cascade cave. (c) Aurora Borealis. (d) Space.
Figure 2
Figure 2
In-game view screenshots of the different 360-degree scenarios. (a) Beach. (b) Cascade cave. (c) Aurora Borealis. (d) Space.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Montreal imaging stress task (MIST) interface during the test phase. (a) View displayed for each arithmetical operation. (b) View displayed during the stress surveys.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Evolution of the average relative gamma (RG) during the experiment. To obtain the average, the RG from the participants whose response was inversely proportional to the stress level felt was inverted before averaging. RS1 and RS2 indicate the start of the resting state periods. MIST corresponds to the beginning of the stress session (only the six-minute test phase). Relax refers to the start of the relaxation phase. The shaded area corresponds to the standard error of the mean (SEM).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Power changes in Theta, Alpha and Gamma bands for each of the four electrodes considered in the study for subject S02. The solid line represents the power evolution in the Theta band. The dash-dotted line indicates the time evolution of the power in Alpha band. The dashed line corresponds to the power changes in Gamma band. (a) Fp1 channel. (b) Fp2 channel. (c) F5 channel. (d) F6 channel.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Time evolution of the average relative gamma for the four different 360-degree experiences. The shaded area corresponds to the standard error of the mean (SEM). (a) Beach experience. (b) Cascade cave experience. (c) Aurora Borealis experience. (d) Space experience.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison of the time evolution of the average RG for the four different 360-degree experiences. The dashed line corresponds to the Beach experience. The solid line represents the Cascade cave experience. The dotted line corresponds to the Aurora Borealis experience. The dash-dotted line represents the Space experience.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Average of the SPSL answers given by the participants. Vertical black lines indicate the standard deviation of the mean. The asterisks (*) indicate statistically significant differences (p-value < 0.05) between T1–T2, T2–T3, T4–T5, and T5-T6. SPSL: self-perceived stress level.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Normalized average of the SPSL answers and the average RG across participants at the eight survey instants. We computed the RG values as the mean of the RG curve in the minute that preceded each survey.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Average across participants of the user experience survey answers. This survey evaluated three aspects of the 360-degree experience: comfort, level of immersion, and general experience. The Y axis represents the mean score of the three aspects, from 1 to 5. Vertical black lines indicate the standard deviation of the mean.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Carl E., Stein A.T., Levihn-Coon A., Pogue J.R., Rothbaum B., Emmelkamp P., Asmundson G.J.G., Carlbring P., Powers M.B. Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Anxiety and Related Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J. Anxiety Disord. 2019;61:27–36. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.08.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ip H.H.S., Wong S.W.L., Chan D.F.Y., Byrne J., Li C., Yuan V.S.N., Lau K.S.Y., Wong J.Y.W. Enhance Emotional and Social Adaptation Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Virtual Reality Enabled Approach. Comput. Educ. 2018;117:1–15. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2017.09.010. - DOI
    1. Maskey M., McConachie H., Rodgers J., Grahame V., Maxwell J., Tavernor L., Parr J.R. An Intervention for Fears and Phobias in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Flat Screen Computer-Delivered Virtual Reality and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Res. Autism Spectr. Disord. 2019;59:58–67. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2018.11.005. - DOI
    1. Ikbali Afsar S., Mirzayev I., Umit Yemisci O., Cosar Saracgil S.N. Virtual Reality in Upper Extremity Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J. Stroke Cerebrovasc. Dis. 2018;27:3473–3478. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2018.08.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Maggio M.G., Russo M., Cuzzola M.F., Destro M., La Rosa G., Molonia F., Bramanti P., Lombardo G., De Luca R., Calabrò R.S. Virtual Reality in Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation: A Review on Cognitive and Motor Outcomes. J. Clin. Neurosci. 2019;65:106–111. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2019.03.017. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources