Running virtual: The effect of virtual reality on exercise

Abstract

Research has shown that exercise among college aged persons has dropped over recent years (Lindahl, 2015; Sheppard, 2016). Many factors could be contributing to this reduction in exercise including: large workloads, the need to work during school, or perhaps technology use. A number of recent studies are showing the benefits of using virtual reality systems in exercise and are demonstrating that the use of such technology can lead to an increase in the number of young adults engaging in exercise. This study focuses on the effects that virtual reality has on heart rate and other bodily sensations during a typical work out. This study also analyses the participants ability to pay less attention to their bodily sensations during exercise when using a virtual reality system. During this experiment, participants were exposed to two different conditions. Condition one being a traditional work out, riding an exercise bike at a middle tension level. Condition two was the same but the participant was wearing a virtual reality headset. The data collected led to the conclusion that working out while wearing a virtual reality headset will lead to a higher heart rate, and in turn can lead to burning more calories during a workout. The study also found participants who wore the virtual reality headset were able to remove themselves from their bodily sensations allowing them to workout longer.

Can Physical Activity in Immersive Virtual Reality Be Attractive and Have Sufficient Intensity to Meet Health Recommendations for Obese Children? A Pilot Study

“…Furthermore, Farrow et al [41] showed that IVR can significantly increase the pleasure of exercising on a cycle ergometer during high-intensity interval training. This is consistent with previous studies which confirmed that stationary cycling in a virtual environment gives users more satisfaction than in conventional conditions [34,42]. This is probably related to the gamification effect [43].…”

“…The first attempts are being made to analyze locomotor activity on IVR treadmills [29][30][31][32]. Studies are beginning to examine the exercise load in people using different exercise machines and show that the intensity of physical exercise while playing AVGs in IVR is so high that a beneficial effect on health can be expected [33] and that the PA in IVR can be even more intense than during conventional training sessions [34].…”

The effects of virtual reality exercise on the physical performance and fatigue of active young men in single-stage aerobic and anaerobic running

“…Overall, our ndings regarding physical performance are consistent with previous research, indicating that exercise with VR results in superior performance by prolonging exercise duration (Matsangidou et al, 2019;McCLURE & Scho eld, 2019). However, using VR did not increase the physical performance of the aerobic group in the present study, which could be due to the applied VR lm.…”

Aerobic Exercise with Superimposed Virtual Reality Improves Cognitive Flexibility and Selective Attention in Young Males

“…The research confirms that VR-enhanced aerobic exercise may prove to be an effective method for improving cognitive function and increasing confidence to navigate real-world scenarios among individuals at risk of cognitive impairment [72]. In an additional similar study, over 50% of participants stated that they preferred the VR condition compared to the traditional workout and claimed that it improved their focus [73]. A review of the literature examining the effects of VR suggested that VR exercise has the potential to exert a positive impact on individuals' physiological, psychological, and rehabilitative outcomes compared with traditional exercise [74].…”