Virtual Reality Gaming Can Make You Sick

Video games using virtual reality now let players participate in realistic-feeling fitness games. Called exergaming, it has a downside — it can make you sick.

Video game enthusiasts, especially teens and young adults, are often pictured playing while they sit staring at screens with controllers in their hands. This sedentary pursuit can go on for hours and has been criticized for taking time away from actual exercise, sports, and other physical activities that promote health. Adding virtual reality (VR) to video games, however, offers a way to get a workout while playing certain video games; gamers can virtually participate in physical contests, workouts, and more.

Called exergaming or gamercise, there’s no doubt this development in video games can help get people moving and may well be the wave of the future in home exercise. But the games can have a downside — what doctors are calling VR sickness — resulting in some players feeling ill for almost an hour after participating in virtual reality exergaming.

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Virtual reality exergaming benefits and warnings

Following the release of virtual reality fitness games on consoles such as Nintendo and PlayStation, VR exergaming has become a popular way to exercise, especially among young people. The virtual reality experience in these games relies on technology that immerses a player in a virtual environment. Using a VR headset, players might see themselves running and jumping or pedaling on a superfast bike through a new and magical environment (while running in place or peddling on an exercise machine), for example.

Researchers are documenting how this gaming approach to fitness can be helpful. For example, a VR research team at the University of Bath’s REVEAL (Reality and Virtual Environments Augmentation) Labs found that a running and jumping VR exergame creates a somewhat natural experience, resulting in medium-to-high physical exertion for players. And the immersive VR environment motivates participants to keep exercising.

But, while VR is undoubtedly raising fitness games to a whole new level, researchers at the University of South Australia are cautioning players about the potential side effects of VR, particularly in the first hour after playing.

VR games can produce motion sickness-type symptoms

A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, headed by University of South Australia VR researcher Ancret Szpak, PhD, looked at physical problems reported after gamers played one of the most popular VR exergames, Beat Saber.

“There’s no doubt that VR provides unparalleled benefits to a range of applications, but it’s important to be wary of how new technologies can affect you, both during and after play,” Szpak says.

The researchers tested the effects of VR exergaming on participants’ vision, nausea, and reaction times after both short (10-minute) and long (50-minute) game play. While most tolerated the Beat Saber games without significant problems, one in seven players experienced longer-lasting side effects with nausea, vision problems, and dizziness. The somewhat disabling symptoms lasted as long as 40 minutes after the players finished the game.

The symptoms appear to be almost identical to those of motion sickness. Motion sickness can occur in cars, trains, airplanes, or boats when the movement you see is different from what your inner ear senses, causing dizziness, nausea, and even vomiting, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anyone can develop motion sickness, although children and pregnant women are most likely to experience this miserable, but not serious, condition.

Bottom line? Virtual reality exergaming is here to stay, but use caution

Virtual reality technology is still in its infancy, Szpak notes, and researchers have much to learn about its impacts on both mind and body.

“There’s no doubt that VR provides unparalleled benefits to a range of applications, but it’s important to be wary of how new technologies can affect you, both during and after play,” Szpak says. “VR is an exciting field that can potentially provide all sorts of benefits to all sorts of people. But we must walk before we leap. And it’s always best to exercise caution with the unknown.”

“For VR exergaming, the lessons are twofold: First, it’s always a good idea to try a brief VR session to make sure you can tolerate it before you dive into longer play; if you feel a bit dizzy after a short time, you’re likely to feel worse after a longer exposure,” she explains. “Second, after playing any VR — exergaming or otherwise — it’s always wise to wait and see how you feel before you take on any higher-risk activity, such as driving a car.”

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