VR Gaming And Health Concerns

VR or Virtual Reality is still the latest trend to hit the gaming market and is growing at a considerable pace year-on-year. VR is touted as being more immersive and, in some respects, healthier than playing video games in a normal on-screen fashion. This technology is still in a niche sector, as content is at a minimum while VR technology remains quite expensive. There is still steady growth to the VR market but is likely to dwindle out if not backed up with enough content to justify the price of entry.

Potential Health Concerns Of VR

There have been many health concerns highlighted when it comes to the use of VR. While not all health concerns are particularly valid, some of them are worth looking into further.

• Physical objects – The most immediate and justifiable threat of VR is the space in which you use it. Being unable to see the world around you can lead to injuries in accidentally hitting objects or walking into objects and walls. Having a big enough area available and mapped out is crucial to not injure yourself.
• Eye strain – Eye strain is bound to happen to everybody in VR at some point, as our eyes are just not used to perceiving in this manner. Eyes will get fatigued, at which point it’s best to take off the VR headset and take a break to enjoy roulette for real money instead. So far, there is no evidence that VR will cause any lasting eye damage, provided the user takes a break when feeling fatigued.
• Motion sickness – Motion sickness is natural for a lot of people. This stems from the brain perceiving a set of motion, while you are not feeling these motions in your body. For example, sea sickness is the opposite, where the brain perceives no motion while the body is still under motion. On average, 1 in 5 people experience motion sickness to a point where it is uncomfortable to play in VR. This is in no way lasting, but a good reason why some people may not be able to enjoy VR.
• Headaches – Headaches and dizziness are some of the most common symptoms experienced while playing games in VR. In some, it can be attributed to motion sickness, while others get these symptoms from having too low a frame rate in the VR headset. For a smooth and headache free gaming experience, a VR headset with 90hz screens is recommended.
• Vergence-accommodation conflict – Vergence-accommodation conflict or VAC stems from the eyes attempting to focus on long distances, as in the game, while in fact the focal point is on a screen right in front of one’s eyes. This can cause additional eye strain and headaches.

Long Term Damage

As it stands, there is no evidence to support the claims that VR can cause long term damage, provided the users take a break when under high levels of eye strain.