The Efficacy of a Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Intervention

A brief virtual-reality-based mindfulness intervention induced a greater state of mindfulness than an audio-based mindfulness intervention or no intervention. Participants in the VR group reported higher state mindfulness than those in the guided audio group, suggesting that immersive VR can enhance the effectiveness of brief mindfulness training in a laboratory setting.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness can be defined as increased awareness of and sustained attentiveness to the present moment. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the applications of mindfulness for empirical research in wellbeing and the use of virtual reality (VR) environments and 3D interfaces as a conduit for mindfulness training. Accordingly, the current experiment investigated whether a brief VR-based mindfulness intervention could induce a greater level of state mindfulness, when compared to an audio-based intervention and control group. Results indicated two mindfulness interventions, VR-based and audio-based, induced a greater state of mindfulness, compared to the control group. Participants in the VR-based mindfulness intervention group reported a greater state of mindfulness than those in the guided audio group, indicating the immersive mindfulness intervention was more robust. Collectively, these results provide empirical support for the efficaciousness of a brief VR-based mindfulness intervention in inducing a robust state of mindfulness in laboratory settings.