Acute Affective Responses to Virtual Reality Exercise: A Crossover Randomized Clinical Trial

Area of Science:

• Exercise Science
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) exercise offers immersive audiovisual experiences.
• Limited large-scale studies compare VR exercise to matched non-VR exercise.
• Understanding VR's acute effects on affect and exertion is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the acute effects of VR exercise versus matched non-VR exercise.
• To assess differences in affect, pleasure, enjoyment, perceived exertion, and heart rate.
• To evaluate the impact of immersive VR on psychological and physiological responses during exercise.

Main Methods:

• Crossover randomized clinical trial design.
• Matched exercise type, time, and difficulty for VR and non-VR sessions.
• Utilized Borg's Perceived Exertion Scale, Feeling Scale, Felt Arousal Scale, and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale.

Main Results:

• VR exercise led to significantly greater increases in affect and arousal.
• Participants reported higher pleasure and enjoyment following VR exercise sessions.
• VR exercise was perceived as more strenuous but yielded superior affective outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Immersive virtual reality exercise provides a more positive affective experience.
• VR exercise can enhance enjoyment and pleasure compared to traditional exercise formats.
• VR presents a promising modality for engaging and psychologically rewarding physical activity.