When it comes to involvement and absorption, VR excels in this domain. Users become deeply involved in the game (flow state) and are more motivated to continue engaging in the tasks and narrative of the game even if it requires physical and mental effort. One main reason why exergaming is so successful is that it can distract the user from the physical exertion of exercise. A combination of physiological and psychological benefits of physical activities makes exergaming an appealing strategy to encourage sedentary people to exercise.Ī potentially promising avenue to boost the effectiveness of exergaming is virtual reality (VR). Exergaming facilitates the flow experience by providing an opportunity to become easily absorbed in the goals and challenges in the game. Greater enjoyment of exercise and adherence are linked to the psychological experience of flow during physical activities. Several studies show that some people get greater enjoyment and feel more positive toward exergaming compared with other forms of physical exercise. The physiological health benefits of exergames are comparable with exercise such as running and aerobic dancing. Exergaming is a valid method for targeting sedentary behaviors in children, adolescents, and adults. We also showed that the participants who experienced a high level of sickness after a short exposure were almost certain to experience a high level of symptoms after a longer exposure.Įxergaming combines exercise and gameplay into a virtual environment with the intention of promoting greater physical activity among users. Although at a group level, participants’ sickness levels returned to baseline 40 min after VR exposure, approximately 14% of the participants still reported high levels of sickness in the late test period after playing 50 min of Beat Saber. The total simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) scores increased immediately after VR ( F 1,35=26.515 P<.001) and were significantly higher for long compared with short exposures ( t 35=2.807 P=.03), but there were no differences in exposure duration in the late test period, with scores returning to baseline levels. Measures on cognition revealed no concern. For both short and long exposures, there were changes in accommodation ( F 1,35=8.424 P=.006) and convergence ( F 1,35=7.826 P=.008) however, in the late test period, participants returned to baseline levels. For most participants, any immediate aftereffects were short-lived and returned to baseline levels after 40 min of exiting VR. Beat Saber was well tolerated, as there were no dropouts due to sickness.

Beat saber game