Effects of Virtual Reality Meditation on Sleep and Delirium in ICU Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Computers, informatics, nursing : CIN April 2, 2025 Soogyeong Kim, Jiyeon Kang 10 citations
A randomized controlled trial tested whether a 20-minute virtual reality-based mindfulness meditation before bedtime improved sleep and reduced delirium in 96 surgical ICU patients at a South Korean university hospital. Subjective sleep quality, measured by the Verran and Snyder-Halpern Sleep Scale, was significantly better in the meditation group than in the standard-care group on the first night (47.82 vs 39.75) and second night (50.26 vs 43.65). However, objective sleep measures from Fitbit devices showed no significant difference in total sleep time between groups on either night. Delirium rates were similar (12.2% vs 12.8%). The authors suggest larger studies are needed to establish the impact of virtual reality meditation.