Virtual Stress Reduction
Avatar and irl training provide similar benefits.
Imagine working out through an avatar in an immersive virtual world and receiving real physiological benefits! A study shows that viewing a virtual illusion of an exercising individual from a first-person perspective can stimulate feelings of stress reduction similar to actual training. Tohoku University researchers in Sendai, Japan, compared different physiological responses between two groups of 26 healthy, young adults watching 30-minute virtual scenarios of running. One group had a first-person avatar’s perspective (as if they were doing the running) and the other group had a third-person view (watching someone else run). Only those with the first-person perspective felt anxiety and stress reduction.
This state of lowered stress following an avatar workout was comparable to what is achieved after “in real life” (IRL) training. Researchers think that use of virtual physical activity as a method to naturally decrease stress can be particularly beneficial, especially among those who cannot exercise sufficiently, such as some older adults.
The research is reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022; 19 [10]).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
