The Immediate Impact of Immersive VR Natural Scene Mindfulness Intervention on the Perceived Stress of Corporate Employees

A randomized controlled trial compared an audio-guided mindfulness intervention delivered via immersive virtual reality (VR) natural scenes with a traditional closed-eye audio-guided mindfulness intervention in enterprise employees. The VR condition produced greater improvements in heart rate variability (HRV) and in the MDBF dimensions of alertness and calmness. On the dimension of pleasure, no discernible difference was found between the two groups. The findings suggest that a VR natural scene mindfulness intervention can immediately and significantly improve HRV, alertness, and calmness, offering a new approach for organizations to support employee mental and physical health.

Study at a glance

Abstract

High work pressure is a common problem for employees in the workplace. A mindfulness-based intervention (MBIs) is often used to relieve stress. Virtual reality (VR) offers an innovative and immersive approach, which is used to achieve mindfulness experiences based on natural scenarios. This study employed a randomized controlled trial (RCT), comparing the immediate psychological and physiological effects of an audio-guided mindfulness intervention based on immersive VR natural scenes and a traditional closed-eye audio-guided mindfulness intervention on enterprise employees. The findings indicate that the VR condition yielded greater improvements in heart rate variability (HRV) and in the MDBF dimensions of alertness and calmness compared with the traditional condition. On the dimension of pleasure, however, there was no discernible difference between the two groups. Research shows that a VR natural scene mindfulness intervention can immediately and significantly improve HRV, alertness and calmness of enterprise employees. This provides a new and feasible solution for organizations to manage the mental and physical health of their employees.