Virtual Reality for Mindfulness: Aspects for Helping or Hindering Focus and Practice

Virtual reality can help some people focus during a guided body-scan meditation by providing audio-visual points of attention, but for others these same features become a source of distraction. The findings highlight both the potential and the pitfalls of using VR for mindfulness and relaxation, and point to the need for further research on interactivity, novelty, self-representation, and whether VR practice transfers to everyday mindfulness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Virtual reality is increasingly being explored as a tool for facilitating mindfulness practices, such as through various guided meditation applications currently available. However, it is unclear how the technological affordances of virtual reality align with the goals of mindfulness and how such experiences can be designed to optimally exploit these affordances. We use a guided body-scan meditation in virtual reality and qualitative data from interviews to offer general insight into users’ experiences of virtual reality as a tool for mindfulness and relaxation more broadly. Our results highlight the potential to create audio-visual focus points for helping some participants concentrate, but also the pitfalls of this approach as a source of distraction for others. We point out avenues for further research, specifically into the interactive nature of VR, the benefits and drawbacks of novelty, alternative modes of self-representation, and the potential gap between VR-based practice and everyday mindfulness.