University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Oct 23;22(10):e19840. doi: 10.2196/19840.
Virtual reality (VR) exergaming has the potential to target sedentary behavior. Immersive environments can distract users from the physical exertion of exercise and can motivate them to continue exergaming. Despite the recent surge in VR popularity, numerous users still experience VR sickness from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Apart from the commonly assessed self-reported symptoms, depth perception and cognition may also be affected. Considering the potential benefits of VR exergaming, it is crucial to identify the adverse effects limiting its potential and continued uptake.
This study aims to investigate the consequences of playing one of the most popular VR exergames for 10 and 50 min on aspects of vision, cognition, and self-reported VR sickness.
A total of 36 participants played an exergame, called Beat Saber, using an HMD. A repeated measures within-subject design was conducted to assess changes in vision, cognition, and well-being after short (10 min) and long (50 min) durations of VR exposure. We measured accommodation, convergence, decision speed, movement speed, and self-reported sickness at 3 test periods-before VR, immediately after VR, and 40 min after VR (late).
Beat Saber was well tolerated, as there were no dropouts due to sickness. For most participants, any immediate aftereffects were short-lived and returned to baseline levels after 40 min of exiting VR. For both short and long exposures, there were changes in accommodation (F=8.424; P=.006) and convergence (F=7.826; P=.008); however, in the late test period, participants returned to baseline levels. Measures on cognition revealed no concern. The total simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) scores increased immediately after VR (F=26.515; P<.001) and were significantly higher for long compared with short exposures (t=2.807; P=.03), but there were no differences in exposure duration in the late test period, with scores returning to baseline levels. Although at a group level, participants' sickness levels returned to baseline 40 min after VR exposure, approximately 14% of the participants still reported high levels of sickness in the late test period after playing 50 min of Beat Saber. We also showed that the participants who experienced a high level of sickness after a short exposure were almost certain to experience a high level of symptoms after a longer exposure.
Irrespective of the duration of exposure, this study found no strong evidence for adverse symptoms 40 min after exiting VR; however, some individuals still reported high levels of VR sickness at this stage. We recommend that users commit to a waiting period after exiting VR to ensure that any aftereffects have deteriorated. Exergames in HMDs have the potential to encourage people to exercise but are understudied, and the aftereffects of exergaming need to be closely monitored to ensure that VR exergames can reach their full potential.
虚拟现实（VR）运动游戏具有针对久坐行为的潜力。沉浸式环境可以使用户分散对运动的身体消耗的注意力，并激励他们继续进行运动游戏。尽管最近 VR 人气飙升，但仍有许多用户在使用头戴式显示器（HMD）时会出现 VR 晕动病。除了通常评估的自我报告症状外，深度知觉和认知也可能受到影响。考虑到 VR 运动游戏的潜在益处，确定限制其潜力和持续采用的不利影响至关重要。
本研究旨在调查玩最受欢迎的 VR 运动游戏之一 10 分钟和 50 分钟对视觉、认知和自我报告的 VR 晕动病的影响。
共有 36 名参与者使用 HMD 玩了一款名为 Beat Saber 的运动游戏。采用重复测量的受试者内设计，在短时间（10 分钟）和长时间（50 分钟）暴露于 VR 后评估视觉、认知和幸福感的变化。我们在 3 个测试期测量了调节、聚散、决策速度、运动速度和自我报告的晕动病-在 VR 之前、VR 后立即和 VR 后 40 分钟（后期）。
Beat Saber 耐受性良好，由于不适而没有退出者。对于大多数参与者来说，任何即时的副作用都是短暂的，并且在退出 VR 40 分钟后恢复到基线水平。对于短时间和长时间的暴露，调节（F=8.424；P=.006）和聚散（F=7.826；P=.008）都发生了变化；然而，在后期测试中，参与者恢复到基线水平。认知测试没有发现问题。总模拟器晕动病问卷（SSQ）评分在 VR 后立即增加（F=26.515；P<.001），长时间暴露的评分明显高于短时间暴露（t=2.807；P=.03），但在后期测试中没有暴露时间的差异，评分恢复到基线水平。尽管在群体水平上，参与者在 VR 暴露后 40 分钟恢复到基线水平，但在玩了 50 分钟的 Beat Saber 后，大约 14%的参与者在后期测试中仍报告有较高水平的晕动病。我们还表明，在短时间暴露后经历高水平晕动病的参与者几乎肯定会在长时间暴露后经历高水平的症状。
无论暴露时间如何，本研究在退出 VR 40 分钟后都没有发现明显的不良症状证据；然而，在这个阶段，一些人仍然报告有高水平的 VR 晕动病。我们建议用户在退出 VR 后承诺等待一段时间，以确保任何副作用已经恶化。头戴式显示器中的运动游戏有可能鼓励人们锻炼，但研究不足，运动游戏的副作用需要密切监测，以确保 VR 运动游戏能够发挥其全部潜力。
