Apple Vision Virtual Reality Headsets are currently trending throughout the world.  These devices blend digital content with your physical space using your eyes, hands and voice.  All you do is strap it on your head, place it over your eyes and you have arrived in an alternative world in which you can interact using functions you typically would on your phone such as: web browsing, movies, texts, research, social media, games and more specifically exercise games.  The Washington Post stated that almost a quarter of online adults in the United States say they’re interested in buying a VR headset, and 18 percent say they’d use a headset primarily for exercise.  Will this trend create more solutions for people, or will it create problems that are difficult to see right now?  Let’s uncover the pros and cons based on research and let you decide for yourself.

 

Although there are not many long-term studies done on VR exercise specifically, there are a multitude of studies on video games which are quite similar.  Some of the pros of video games from a psychology perspective according to Dr. Tracy Marks are increased cognitive function such as spatial awareness, attention, and visual processing.  It can enhance creativity and problem solving, promote resilience, and help process aggression.  From a simpler perspective, VR exercise may be a considerably more engaging indoor alternative to treadmill or stationary bike cardio. After all, a common complaint about those options is that people find them boring.  Another desirable feature of VR is that it tracks data from your workouts.  Part of the interest in wanting to continue a workout program is seeing improvement through data.  Most VR exercise games make tracking data easy and even more addictive.

 

Some of the cons of video games from the perspective of neuroscience are their addictive nature.  Why it matters that they can be addictive is that according to Stanford professor Andrew Huberman, “Addiction is a progressive narrowing of the things that bring you pleasure.  So, the person only has excitement and can achieve dopamine release doing that behavior and not other behaviors.  So, they start losing interest in school, relationships, fitness, well-being, and it ultimately depletes their life.  People will play a video game, it’s super exciting to them, they’ll keep playing and then there is a typical pattern.  This pattern is that they no longer get dopamine release from the addiction and once this happens it can often lead to a serious depression and higher likelihood of suicide.”  You may be wondering why playing the video game will eventually result in dopamine no longer releasing during the play.  It is because human beings have a baseline of dopamine that circulates through their brain and body and when they experience a large spike from something highly novel and desirable, their baseline of dopamine after the spike, drops lower than their original baseline.  So, over time your baseline of dopamine continues to plummet and so does your mood and motivation to move towards goals.

 

It's easy to see that gaming can be an incredible option for the brain to both develop optimally and to also diminish its capacity to receive dopamine long term.  As with most things, moderation and knowledge are the keys to maintaining balance in life.  So, to understand its benefits and its dangers is the first step.  Then, if you decide to try it, consider monitoring how it affects your mood and motivation to still implement the other components of a holistic wellness program.  These components are things such as in-person interactions for interpersonal skills and community, nutrition, stress-management, creating and pursuing meaningful goals, resistance training, spiritual practice and perhaps supplementation. 

 

Drew Acklin is the owner of Be Here Now, located at 701 N. Mountain Rd., in Harrisburg. He holds certifications as a NASM corrective exercise specialist and ACE personal trainer specializing in holistic barbell training, lifestyle coaching, pain, posture and weight loss. For more information, call 717-514-5630, email [email protected] or visit BeHereNowHBG.com.