Exploring the Effects of VR Activities on Stress Relief: A Comparison of Sitting-in-Silence, VR Meditation, and VR Smash Room

TL;DR

This study compares the stress relief effects of VR meditation, VR smash room, and sitting-in-silence, finding VR meditation most effective and highlighting the influence of individual personality on outcomes.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of VR meditation versus other methods for stress relief and explores how user personality affects treatment efficacy.

Findings

VR Meditation outperforms VR Smash Room and Sitting-in-Silence in stress reduction

Stress relief effects are correlated with participants' personalities

VR activities can be tailored based on individual profiles for better outcomes

Abstract

In our lives, we encounter various stressors that may cause negative mental and bodily reactions to make us feel frustrated, angry, or irritated. Effective methods to manage or reduce stress and anxiety are essential for a healthy life, and several stress-management approaches are found to be useful for stress relief, such as meditation, taking a rest, walking around nature, or even breaking things in a smash room. Previous research has revealed that certain experiences in virtual reality (VR) are effective for reducing stress as traditional real-world methods. However, it is still unclear how the stress relief effects are associated with other factors like individual user profile in terms of different treatment activities. In this paper, we report our findings from a formal user study that investigates the effects of two virtual activities: (1) VR Meditation and (2) VR Smash Room experience, compared with a traditional Sitting-in-Silence method. Our results show that VR Meditation has a better stress relief effect compared to VR Smash Room and Sitting-in-Silence, and the effects of the treatments are correlated with the participants' personalities. We discuss the findings and implications addressing potential benefits/impacts of different stress-relief activities in VR.