Study evaluates immersive virtual reality as a sleep aid for teens


Date:
August 26, 2020
Source:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Summary:
While teens are encouraged to turn off electronics before bedtime, a
new study suggests that visiting a virtual environment may benefit
their sleep health. Researchers evaluated the efficacy of a novel
intervention based on virtual reality and slow breathing to promote
bedtime relaxation and sleep in high school students.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== While teens are encouraged to turn off electronics before bedtime,
a new study suggests that visiting a virtual environment may benefit
their sleep health.

Researchers evaluated the efficacy of a novel intervention based on
virtual reality and slow breathing to promote bedtime relaxation and
sleep in high school students.


========================================================================== Preliminary results show that perceived sleepiness increased, alertness decreased, and heart rate dropped following the relaxation and virtual
reality intervention. Teens also fell asleep an average of 6 minutes
faster and experienced a 3% increase in sleep efficiency -- the percentage
of time spent asleep while in bed -- compared with a baseline night of
quiet activities before bedtime.

"Our results indicate that the use of immersive virtual reality and slow breathing/relaxation techniques can help promote bedtime relaxation
and improve overall sleep quality in adolescents with good sleep and
in those with insomnia symptoms," said lead author Dr. Dilara Yuksel, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International
in Menlo Park, California.

"While our findings are still preliminary, they suggest the
potential of being able to apply immersive virtual reality and slow breathing/relaxation techniques to facilitate sleep, which could be an effective approach in problem sleepers." The study involved 29 high
school students between the ages of 16 and 18 years, 10 of whom had sleep difficulties. The participants' sleep was assessed by polysomnography for
two nights. On the baseline night, they engaged in 20 minutes of quiet activities, such as reading a book, before bedtime. On the intervention
night, they performed 20 minutes of slow breathing while experiencing
a relaxing, immersive, virtual reality environment.

Yuksel added that the results are especially important in identifying
ways to treat teenage insomnia and other sleep disturbances that are
risk factors for other physical and mental disorders such as depression.

"The investigation and treatment of insomnia disorders is of great
interest to the general public, with particularly inexpensive and simple methods available that can be performed at home and are promising for long-term, large-scale use," she said.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Academy_of_Sleep_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. M de Zambotti, F Baker, I Durley, L Volpe, N Arra, T Dulai,
R Wang, Q
Lee, S Claudatos, M Forouzanfar, D Prouty, A Goldstone, D
Yu"ksel. 0916 The Use of Immersive Virtual Reality and Slow
Breathing to Enhance Relaxation and Sleep in Adolescents. Sleep,
2020; 43 (Supplement_1): A348 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.912 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200826110330.htm

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