Challenges and Opportunities of Immersive Technologies for Mindfulness Meditation: A Systematic Review
Frontiers in Virtual Reality April 27, 2021 Nina Döllinger, Carolin Wienrich, M. Latoschik
Extended reality (XR) technologies—including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality—offer new ways to support mindfulness meditation by enabling sensory stimulation, presence, and embodiment. A systematic analysis of 50 papers from HCI and life sciences found that current empirical research on XR-based mindfulness focuses mainly on therapy and therapeutic outcomes, with most interventions limited to vocally guided meditations in nature-inspired virtual environments. The analysis did not reveal differences in mindfulness outcomes compared to non-mediated practices, but design proposals suggest XR could enable interactive and body-based innovations. The authors propose a framework with design guidelines for future XR-based mindfulness support.