Zeng, Nan, et al. “Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 4 Mar. 2018, www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/7/3/42/htm.

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[edit] "Virtual Reality Exercise for Anxiety and Depression: A Preliminary Review of Current Research in an Emerging Field"

Virtual Reality has had a tremendous effect on how society displays it technologic advancements. It has impacted the technology world on a global scale and it continues to improve. It emerges a person in such a realistic environment that researchers found it could be used for more than just gaming. Since VR can incorporate surreal visuals and combine objects to control the setting, it can provide very powerful simulations. Many people found this technology could be used for purposes such as training and skill developing. Another area that VR has had an effect is the mental health field. Many researchers have conducted studies using VR as a type of exposure therapy for those with disorders to overcome them.


An article was written by Nan Zeng, Zachary Pope, Jung Eun Lee and Zan Gao researched the ways VR can be used to help those with anxiety and depression. Their study focused on using VR to promote a physically active lifestyle to help cope with anxiety and depression symptoms. They compared different studies that used VR interface with physical gear such as an exercise bike or treadmill. The studies were researched findings found from participants with anxiety or depression. The participants were made to do exercises while using VR gear to be placed in a simulated environment. The study also compared the difference between VR exercise and regular exercise. VR exercises seemed to have an advantage over regular exercise since it made it more interesting for the participants.


The article used certain criteria for the studies they used to evaluate VR excising. The principals were described as, “(1) published in English between January 2000 through October 2017 as peer-reviewed study; (2) employed the use of immersive VR only (e.g., head-mounted display(s)), with studies of non-immersive VR (e.g., Xbox 360 Kinect and Nintendo Wii) excluded; (3) involved human participants; (4) used quantitative measures in assessing anxiety- and depression-related outcomes; and (5) employed an established study design that allowed for examination of the effect of VR exercise on anxiety- and depression-related outcomes meaning case studies were excluded.”


The article is a great way to compare the effectiveness of certain studies and how impactful a study was to research. It has a clear understanding of mental health and the authors seemed very compassionate about finding more information on ways to help those with mental health disorders. The authors thoroughly studied each writing chosen to be a part of the article. All the authors had to agree that the study was valuable for it to be discussed further. After conducting further research, they ranked the studies based on how unbiased they were. This makes their research very easy to follow and the reader can see which studies they can rely on more for the most accurate information.


Something that is different about this article compared to a lot of others is the authors reveal the aspects of their research that may be wrong. Their concerns are correct regarding their study. Some of the things they think that need to be taken into consideration are the disadvantages of the article. The author conversed concerns like the search terms they used limited them to certain studies, only reading English articles limited their studies, having a wide range of articles could cause discrepancies and the actual effectiveness of VR exercise may cause bad habits. Limiting search terms could generally the disorders the participants had, so some studies may have had ineffective results since the study wasn’t suited for the participants.


There have been many studies conducted all over the world, so limiting the search to only English eliminates the possibility of finding good studies for the article. The time range of the studies used is rather big, so some of the articles could be out of date since technology is constantly improving. The last concern mentioned is one that should be discussed, since it could become a problem if VR therapy becomes more popular. The author said that VR exercise could cause participants to rely on technology for exercise which would defeat the purpose of introducing them to a healthy lifestyle. If the participants feel they can only workout with the aid of VR then it might be more dangerous to their mental health.


A concern I have had while reading the article was, how is VR exercise that different from working out? I understand that it could make it more fun for a participant but giving the person actual training on a healthy lifestyle might have a long-lasting rather than short-term effect. I imagine focusing on the individual’s physical and mental health would be more appropriate to help with anxiety and depression. Once the VR machine is removed, the participant may never exercise again because it would seem like a chore rather than fun. I think using VR as a way of exposure therapy is great but using it to introduce someone to an active lifestyle may not be suited for its purpose. I believe someone would benefit from proper counseling and training to have a healthy and active lifestyle.

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