The purpose of this study is to verify the effect of virtual reality (VR) intervention on stress reduction for workers. After inducing stress by the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressure Test (SECPT), Investigators should explore recovery of stress response in VR intervention and control condition. Healthy individuals were randomly assigned to one of VR intervention group and control group.
Investigators will assess whether subjective stress ratings and saliva cortisol elevations to the SECPT can be decreased by VR intervention more rapidly compared to control condition. After screening, pre-evaluation is conducted on healthy individuals who agreed to participate in the study. Experimental sessions run in the afternoon (between 14:00 and 17:00) in the virtual reality laboratory to control for diurnal cycle of cortisol. After arrival at the laboratory, participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions (VR intervention or control). At this point, psychological distress was recorded and baseline saliva sample was collected. After the first assessment, participants immersed their hand in ice water during 3 minutes and were watched by an unfamiliar person and videotaped during hand immersion. Immediately after participants took the SECPT, they rated on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) how stressful the previous situation had been and the second saliva sample was collected (the 2nd measurement). Thereafter, participants of VR intervention group go through VR intervention in a virtual seaside environment with congruent sounds, whereas those of control group are allowed to read materials of stress. Participants will be asked to collect their saliva and fill a VAS immeiately after the recovery period (the 3rd measurement) and 30 minutes after cessation of the stress manipulation (the 4th measurement). THe VR intervention is expected to cause more rapid recovery of stress responses than a control intervention.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
60
VR intervention in a virtual seaside environment with congruent sounds.
reading materials of stress responses and recovery
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
change in level of salivary cortisol
Saliva cortisol will be collected in sampling tubes with cotton swabs (Salivette®; Sarstedt, Leicester, UK) after Baseline, stress manipulation, intervention, and 30 minutes after stress provoking, for a total of four samples. The saliva cortisol is assessed with a competitive enzyme immunoassy (EIA) designed for quantitative in vitro measurement of cortisol in saliva (Spectria Cortisol Coated Tube RIA, Orion Diagnostica, Espoo, Finland) following the manufacturer's protocol.
Time frame: baseline, at the end of stress manipulation (3 minutes after the initiation of stress manipulation), immediately after intervention (5 minutes of intervention), 30 minutes after the end of stress manipulation
change in subjectie stress ratings
Participants will be rated on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) how stressful they are at baseline, after stress manipulation, after recovery intervention, 30 minutes after stress manipulation.
Time frame: baseline, at the end of stress manipulation (3 minutes after the initiation of stress manipulation), immediately after intervention (5 minutes of intervention), 30 minutes after the end of stress manipulation
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