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A project called “Inhale, Exhale, Dive” is being tested at the Polish University of Technology. It essentially uses virtual reality glasses that “transport” patients to nature. Researchers believe the technology could help treat depression.
The project is involving 50 people with a confirmed diagnosis of depressive disorder. Each person will wear VR headsets for 20 minutes daily for three weeks. Through them, the subjects will see a forest or meadow, hear birdsong, a babbling brook, or the sound of rain.
During this session, researchers assess the subjects’ stress levels by measuring their heart rate and so-called skin electrical activity (SEA), a measure of how the skin’s electrical conductivity changes due to the activity of sweat glands, which respond to a person’s emotional state. If the VR session is truly calming, the scientists will detect this through changes in skin conductivity even before the subjects themselves are aware of it.
The remaining 50 participants will serve as a control group; their results will be compared with those of the main group.
The study’s authors emphasize that virtual reality does not replace therapy, but rather serves as a complement to it—VR headsets are designed to enhance its effectiveness.
