Assessing the Acute Effects of Virtual Reality Interventions on Stress (VR_Stress_25)

Prof. Dominique de Quervain, MD

Status

Not yet enrolling

Conditions

Slow Breathing

Treatments

Device: VR (VR-Mystical)

Device: VR (VR-Breathing+Mystical)

Device: Computer (Non-VR-Breathing)

Drug: VR (VR-Control)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT07191288

2025-01814

Details and patient eligibility

About

A Four-Arm RCT, testing the acute effects of a Virtual Reality (VR)- based slow-paced breathing intervention on subjective and physiological markers of stress. The investigator hypothesize that combining slow breathing with immersive, mystical-type VR elements will result in the greatest stress reduction.

Enrollment

120 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 35 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

> 60 points on the PSQ-30 out of a maximum 120-point scale in the screening
Healthy
Aged between 18-35
Fluent in German

Exclusion criteria

A current diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (self-reported)
Chronic medication use (except oral contraceptives)
Parallel participation in another medical or psychological study
Suicidal tendencies (PHQ-9 item 9 > 0)3
PHQ-9 score ≥ 10
A visual impairment not corrected by glasses or contact lenses

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

120 participants in 4 patient groups

VR-Breathing+Mystical

Experimental group

Description:

Participants engage in guided slow-paced breathing using VR that provides mystical-type visual feedback.

Treatment:

Device: VR (VR-Breathing+Mystical)

VR-Mystical

Experimental group

Description:

Participants passively view the same nature scene as in the first condition (VR-Breathing+Mystical), but without guided breathing instructions (i.e., they breathe naturally).

Treatment:

Device: VR (VR-Mystical)

Non-VR-Breathing

Experimental group

Description:

Participants follow a slow-paced breathing pattern guided by a simple visual cue (expanding/contracting circle) on a standard computer screen.

Treatment:

Device: Computer (Non-VR-Breathing)

VR-Control

Sham Comparator group

Description:

To control for the effects of experiencing VR, participants will watch a neutral documentary in a video player implemented in VR.