Elaboration: Virtual Reality Sickness

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Introduction

Virtual reality sickness (VR-Sickness) is a series of symptoms that can sometimes occur during or after a virtual reality session. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, but they are capable of placing a strain or burden on the person's body. Usually, the longer the VR session, the more significant and the more signs of VR-Sickness are present. VR-Sickness is a problem in VR-based medical treatments, and a problem for those who enjoy playing Beat Saber and other VR entertainment. In this blog post, I will describe VR-Sickness and potential solutions.

Causes

The cause of VR-Sickness is tied similarly to how motion sickness is caused. When the player plays a VR game, your eyes and ears sense virtual movement. However, the skeletal system is not moving. This results in two different signals being sent to the brain, causing confusion and therefore VR-Sickness. (Whelan, 2021)

Symptoms

Some symptoms of VR-Sickness include feeling dizzy, having a headache, nausea, vomiting, sweating, and eye strain. These symptoms can either make you mildly irritated to being totally exhausted. These symptoms are mostly caused by conflicting messages sent to the brain. (Papp, 2022)

Ways to Overcome VR-Sickness

The prime way to prevent catching VR-Sickness is to take baby steps with how much time you spend using your VR headset, especially if it is your first time. When you find yourself about to feel at unease, take off the headset and take a break. Overtime, you can slowly increase the amount of time spent using VR. Also, assuring words of encouragement help you. This is because psychology can also affect how you interpret VR-Sickness. If these methods are found to be lacking, ginger can also help mitigate potential awakenings of the sickness if you consume some before engaging in virtual activity. As bizarre as it is, blowing a fan at yourself might reduce the tendency to vomit because of the cool air hitting your skin. (Reed, 2021)

Conclusion

VR-Sickness can be a condition capable of discouraging people and patients from using VR headsets. However, with proper mitigation, VR-Sickness can be highly reduced after prolonged use of these strategies and due to natural adaptation, much like a sailor. I hope that I enlightened the audience with new information in this blog post, and I will see y'all in the next blog post. Merry Christmas!

References

Papp, D. (2022, November 29). VR sickness: A new, old problem. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://hackaday.com/2022/11/29/vr-sickness-a-new-old-problem/

Reed, C. (2021, January 5). 7 things you can do to overcome VR motion sickness. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://uploadvr.com/7-ways-overcome-vr-motion- sickness/#:~:text=7%20Things%20You%20Can%20Do%20to%20Overcome%20VR,...%208%2 0Bonus%20Idea%3A%20Alternative%20M

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Whelan, C. (2021, June 1). What causes virtual reality (VR) motion sickness? Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/vr-motion-sickness