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BackgroundScience is beginning to establish the benefits of the use of virtual reality (VR) in health care. This therapeutic approach may be an appropriate complementary treatment for some mental illnesses. It could prevent high levels of morbidity and improve the physical health of patients. For many years, the literature has shown the health benefits of physical exercise. Physical exercise in a VR environment may improve the management of mild to moderate mental health conditions. In this context, we developed a virtual environment combined with an ergocycle (the augmented physical training for isolated and confined environments [APTICE] system). ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the impact of physical exercise in a VR environment. MethodsA total of 14 healthy participants (11 men and 3 women; mean age 43.28, SD 10.60 years) undertook 15 minutes of immersive physical exercise using the system. Measures included mindfulness and immersion disposition, subjective perceptions of sensory information, user experience, and VR experience (ie, psychological state, flow, and presence). ResultsFirst, the APTICE system appears to be a useful tool because the user experience is positive (subscales in the AttrakDiff questionnaire: pragmatic quality=0.99; hedonic quality–stimulation=1.90; hedonic quality–identification=0.67; attractiveness=1.58). Second, the system can induce a positive psychological state (negative emotion, P=.06) and an experience of flow and presence (P values ranging from |
