As virtual reality (VR) technology becomes more common, VR-based stress treatments are becoming increasingly accessible. Additionally, these interventions can be quicker and more cost-effective compared to traditional treatments.

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Through the use of virtual reality technology, some psychologists have been able to treat stress. This is usually done through using pre-rendered environments to help calm patients.

Virtual Reality Stress Treatment

B. Biber et al., "Investigating the Efficacy of Virtual Experiences on Stress Reduction," 2020 Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS), 2020, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/SIEDS49339.2020.9106637.

Investigating the Efficacy of Virtual Experiences on Stress Reduction

One study with a small group of participants had them look at either nature scenes, urban scenes, or a 2D image. Participants had their emotional arousal and heart beat monitored during this time. They were also questioned on their comfort after the test. Researchers found that watching nature imagery was correlated with reduced short-term stress.

Virtual Reality Exposure and Stress Levels

VR Stress Treatment Benefits

VR is still a new technology, so it's capabilities aren't yet fully understood. In addition, it is most likely not enough for more serious stress disorders. Current studies also have small sample sizes. Lastly, it is still a novel technology for most people, so it's not commonplace yet.

VR Stress Treatment Drawbacks

Virtual Reality (VR) is being used at increasing rates to distract typically developing patients during medical procedures. There are findings that VR can effectively reduce pain and anxiety with few side effects. VR has been used successfully in patients with IDD during procedures like botulinum toxin injections (with and without nitrous oxide), venipuncture, casting, and postoperative pain management.

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