Virtual Reality Interventions for Enhancing Sleep Quality: A Comprehensive Review of Current Approaches
摘要
Digital techniques such as Virtual Reality (VR) have been progressively integrated recently alongside conventional psychological interventions in enhancing sleep quality. This study investigates the effectiveness of VR interventions in improving sleep quality and associated outcomes such as sleep onset latency, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency. Furthermore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the diverse approaches by which VR has been employed in research to enhance sleep.
MethodsThe search for eligible studies for inclusion was conducted via the following databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, and CENTRAL, starting from the earliest records (2012) till December 2024. The studies were assessed for quality using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, and data were extracted and analyzed.
ResultsThis search found 1960 articles published between 2012 and 2024; of these, 27 were assessed for eligibility, out of which 15 were included in this review, which were published between 2020 and 2024. This review covered fifteen studies, with a total of 572 participants. The results indicated that VR interventions significantly improved sleep quality, including reductions in sleep onset latency, increases in total sleep time, and enhanced sleep efficiency.
ConclusionVR technology has the potential to provide a non-invasive, and personalized approaches for sleep enhancement. To advance the field, future studies should address limitations related to study design, outcome measures, and intervention protocols, while exploring new VR techniques and personalized approaches to optimize sleep interventions.