‘Soaring’ over hills or ‘playing’ with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Retired Army Col. Farrell Patrick taught pc science at West Point all the way through the Seventies after which at two personal universities during the Nineteen Nineties, so he is not shocked by way of the growth era has made over the many years.

But when the 91-year-old were given his first virtual reality enjoy just lately, he used to be surprised. Sitting in a convention room at John Knox Village, a suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida, retirement group, Patrick sat up directly as his eyes and ears skilled what it will be love to be in a Navy fighter jet flying off the Florida coast.

“Oh my God, that’s beautiful,” he blurted ahead of the VR program introduced the jet in for a touchdown on an plane service.

John Knox Village used to be considered one of 17 senior communities across the nation that participated in a just lately revealed Stanford University study that discovered that giant majorities of 245 members between 65 and 103 years outdated loved virtual reality, bettering each their feelings and their interactions with team of workers.

The study is a part of a bigger effort to evolve VR so it may be recommended to seniors’ well being and emotional well-being and assist reduce the have an effect on dementia has on a few of them.

During the trying out, seniors picked from seven-minute virtual reports akin to parachuting, using in a tank, observing level performances, enjoying with domestic dogs and kittens or visiting puts like Paris or Egypt. The members wore headsets that gave them 360-degree perspectives and sounds, making it look like that they had been all however dropped into the true enjoy.

“It brought back memories of my travels and … brought back memories of my experience growing up on a farm,” said Terry Colli, a former public relations director at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., of his 2022 experience. Colli, 76, liked swiveling in a chair to get a panoramic view. “That was kind of amazing.”

Anne Selby, a 79-year-old retired counselor and artist, discovered VR “stimulated virtually every area of my brain, all of the senses.”

“I particularly enjoyed the ones dealing with pets because I have a cat and I’ve had pets most of my life,” she said.

Stanford’s peer-reviewed study, working with the company Mynd Immersive, found that almost 80% of seniors reported having a more positive attitude after their VR session and almost 60% said they felt less isolated socially. The enjoyment lessened somewhat for older respondents whose sight and hearing had deteriorated. Those who found VR less enjoyable were also more likely to dislike technology in general.

In addition, almost 75% of caregivers said residents’ moods improved after using VR. More than 80% of residents and almost 95% caregivers said talking about their VR experience enhanced their relationships with each other.

“For the majority of our respondents, it was their first time using virtual reality. They enjoyed it. They were likely to recommend it to others, and they looked forward to doing it again,” mentioned Ryan Moore, a Stanford doctoral candidate who helped lead the analysis.

“We are proving VR to be a tool that really does help with the well-being of our elders,” mentioned Chris Brickler, Mynd’s CEO and co-founder. The Texas-based corporate is considered one of a handful that focuses on virtual reality for seniors. “It is far different than a two-dimensional television or an iPad.”

Separate from the study, John Knox Village makes use of virtual reality in its unit that homes seniors who’ve Alzheimer’s illness and different dementia. It is helping spur recollections that result in conversations with caregivers.

“It is like they come back to life when they tell their story.” mentioned Hana Salem, the ability’s significant lifestyles coordinator. She mentioned that with others who do not communicate a lot perk up when given a VR enjoy hanging them in nature.

“They’ll start laughing and saying, ‘Ooh, I’m going to catch the butterflies,’ ” Salem said. Catching butterflies is also part of a game Mynd developed that helps seniors enhance their mobility and flexibility as they stand and reach for objects.

“It’s more fun for these seniors to come in and catch butterflies and work on shoulder rehab than it is to go pick up a weight,” Brickler mentioned.

Brickler said his company’s systems will soon attach to Google Earth, so seniors can virtually visit neighborhoods where they lived, schools they attended and places they have visited, sparking further conversations with caregivers.

Such virtual visits “can bring back a tremendous amount of joy, a tremendous amount of memories. And when the therapist or the other caregiver can work with that older adult and talk through things we see, we definitely see that it provides an uplift,” Brickler said.

The company has worked on the biggest complaints seniors in the study had about VR — the headsets were too heavy, the heat they generated made their foreheads sweat and sometimes the experience created nausea, he said. The new headsets weigh about six ounces (189 grams) instead of a pound (454 grams), they have a built-in fan for cooling, and the videos aren’t as jumpy.

The findings that seniors in their 80s and 90s enjoy VR less than those in their 70s might lead to changes for them such as requiring less neck rotation to see all of the scenery and making the visuals bigger, Moore said.

On a recent afternoon at John Knox, a handful of seniors who live independently took turns again using virtual reality. Pete Audet experienced what it would be like to fly in a wingsuit, soaring over show-capped mountains before landing in a field.

“Oooh, running stop!” exclaimed Audet, a 76-year-old retired information technology worker. He thinks other seniors “will really enjoy it. But they just need to learn how to use it.”

His wife, Karen, “played” with puppies and was so entranced by her virtual walk around Paris that she didn’t hear questions being asked of her.

“I was there. But I was here!” said Karen Audet, an 82-year-old retired elementary school teacher.

Farrell, the retired Army computer expert, said he hopes to live to 100 because he believes the next five years will see momentous change in VR. Still a technology enthusiast, he believes the cost of systems will drop dramatically and become part of everyday living, even for seniors.

“It is not going to be as elementary as it is now. It is going to be very realistic and very responsive,” he mentioned. “It will probably be connected to your brain.”