TY - JOUR
T1 - Virtual Reality “exergames”
T2 - A promising countermeasure to improve motivation and restorative effects during long duration spaceflight missions
AU - Keller, Nathan
AU - Whittle, Richard S.
AU - McHenry, Neil
AU - Johnston, Adam
AU - Duncan, Colton
AU - Ploutz-Snyder, Lori
AU - Torre, Gabriel G.De La
AU - Sheffield-Moore, Melinda
AU - Chamitoff, Gregory
AU - Diaz-Artiles, Ana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Keller, Whittle, McHenry, Johnston, Duncan, Ploutz-Snyder, Torre, Sheffield-Moore, Chamitoff and Diaz-Artiles.
PY - 2022/10/11
Y1 - 2022/10/11
N2 - Long duration spaceflight missions will require novel exercise systems to protect astronaut crew from the detrimental effects of microgravity exposure. The SPRINT protocol is a novel and promising exercise prescription that combines aerobic and resistive training using a flywheel device, and it was successfully employed in a 70-day bed-rest study as well as onboard the International Space Station. Our team created a VR simulation to further augment the SPRINT protocol when using a flywheel ergometer training device (the Multi-Mode Exercise Device or M-MED). The simulation aspired to maximal realism in a virtual river setting while providing real-time biometric feedback on heart rate performance to subjects. In this pilot study, five healthy, male, physically-active subjects aged 35 ± 9.0 years old underwent 2 weeks of SPRINT protocol, either with or without the VR simulation. After a 1-month washout period, subjects returned for a subsequent 2 weeks in the opposite VR condition. We measured physiological and cognitive variables of stress, performance, and well-being. While physiological effects did not suggest much difference with the VR condition over 2 weeks, metrics of motivation, affect, and mood restoration showed detectable differences, or trended toward more positive outcomes than exercise without VR. These results provide evidence that a well-designed VR “exergaming” simulation with biometric feedback could be a beneficial addition to exercise prescriptions, especially if users are exposed to isolation and confinement.
AB - Long duration spaceflight missions will require novel exercise systems to protect astronaut crew from the detrimental effects of microgravity exposure. The SPRINT protocol is a novel and promising exercise prescription that combines aerobic and resistive training using a flywheel device, and it was successfully employed in a 70-day bed-rest study as well as onboard the International Space Station. Our team created a VR simulation to further augment the SPRINT protocol when using a flywheel ergometer training device (the Multi-Mode Exercise Device or M-MED). The simulation aspired to maximal realism in a virtual river setting while providing real-time biometric feedback on heart rate performance to subjects. In this pilot study, five healthy, male, physically-active subjects aged 35 ± 9.0 years old underwent 2 weeks of SPRINT protocol, either with or without the VR simulation. After a 1-month washout period, subjects returned for a subsequent 2 weeks in the opposite VR condition. We measured physiological and cognitive variables of stress, performance, and well-being. While physiological effects did not suggest much difference with the VR condition over 2 weeks, metrics of motivation, affect, and mood restoration showed detectable differences, or trended toward more positive outcomes than exercise without VR. These results provide evidence that a well-designed VR “exergaming” simulation with biometric feedback could be a beneficial addition to exercise prescriptions, especially if users are exposed to isolation and confinement.
KW - HIIT (high intensity interval training)
KW - aerobic exercise
KW - biometric
KW - exergaming
KW - resistance exercise
KW - sprint protocol
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140388570&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3389/fphys.2022.932425
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2022.932425
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85140388570
SN - 1664-042X
VL - 13
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
JF - Frontiers in Physiology
M1 - 932425
ER -