Is VR bad for your health?

[savagebeest]

I play strictly on VR. I was told by a youtuber that VR can mess with your brain with electromagnetics like cell phones. Ive been using VR since 2012 (dk1) and thankfully so far i havent experienced any issues as far as im aware. I researched and it seems to be a mixture of information. Is there any definite proof that VR is bad for ones health?

[Hanu]

Anything you enjoy is bad for your health. Doctor tells you this always in some quirky way, but that is the idea.

[savagebeest]

that makes sense. thank you. 

[dburne]

Of course it is bad for your health. Once addicted all your money goes to VR, including money you might have spent to stay healthy.  

[[CPT]Crunch]

It's either VR or laying drunk in a ditch somewhere from sheer boredom.  In my case I'd say its healthier.

[WheelwrightPL]

My eyesight loses sharpness after longer VR sessions (more than half an hour). I don't think that having LCD screens literally centimeters in front of your eyes is good for you. Am I wrong ?

[Charlo-VRde]

9 minutes ago, WheelwrightPL said:

My eyesight loses sharpness after longer VR sessions (more than half an hour). I don't think that having LCD screens literally centimeters in front of your eyes is good for you. Am I wrong ?

I do worry about that, though still put in 10-15 hours of VR flying each week. I haven’t seen my eye doctor since the pandemic started, coincidently when I got into VR flying…

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

Depending on the type of screen in use in the VR, it potentially can be damaging to the eyes due to blue light (UVA) emissions.   This could contribute to macular degeneration.  My understanding is that LED screens are the worse, LCD screens are a little less bad and OLED have the least (by up to a 80% reduction over LED).  However, any blue light source that close to your eye can't be good.  It is possible that some VR manufacturers have blue light filters.  I don't know.  I do know 3rd parties sell them.

https://www.vr-wave.store/pages/blue-light-filters

 

[savagebeest]

I use the rift s. My eye sight has been fine since 2012 and i strictly game on vr. 

[dburne]

I retired in 2016 and got my first VR headset - Rift CV1 - in Jan 2017.

Have been using VR ever since, several hours a day on most days.

Can't say it has negatively affected my health in any way.

[Charlo-VRde]

20 minutes ago, dburne said:

I retired in 2016 and got my first VR headset - Rift CV1 - in Jan 2017.

Have been using VR ever since, several hours a day on most days.

Can't say it has negatively affected my health in any way.

And you’re sure you were already blind in one eye before you started using VR, right, Don? ??

Edited June 17, 2022 by Charlo-VR

[BBAS_Tiki_Joe]

I have 4,500 Hours on my VR head sets. Have had one since 2015. Started off with 20/20 vision, still have 20/20 vision. Might be a little fatter around the waist but I've not seen any negative effects on my eyes.

[76SQN-Minimayhemtemp]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:13 PM, savagebeest said:

I play strictly on VR. I was told by a youtuber that VR can mess with your brain with electromagnetics like cell phones. Ive been using VR since 2012 (dk1) and thankfully so far i havent experienced any issues as far as im aware. I researched and it seems to be a mixture of information. Is there any definite proof that VR is bad for ones health?

 

told by a youtuber

 

That's the only thing that's worrying here.  YouTube is not a reputable source of scientific information. 

[javelina]

6 hours ago, 76SQN-Minimayhemtemp said:

 

told by a youtuber

 

That's the only thing that's worrying here.  YouTube is not a reputable source of scientific information. 

Exactly!  Instead, I rely on Reddit as my source....  ??

[Izel]

I don't know anything about the possible harms you describe, but let me tell you a little anecdote.  I was playing the other day, completely immersed in the mission, headset volume loud enough to not hear my wife calling me, so she comes and grabs my shoulder...  I can not describe how FRIGHTENED I was by the experience, it is as if my brain could not process being touched under the simulated environment. I jumped from my seat screaming and  my heart kept pounding heavily for a couple of minutes.

 

I think that if you have a heart condition, this may be a real concern.

 

Moral of the story: devise with your significant others an alternative to call your attention by touching you while you are immersed in VR play.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Izel
clarified moral of the story

[ST_Catchov]

What the hell was she doing away from the kitchen? 

[spreckair]

Strangely enough, my 63-year old eyesight improved after spending a year flying in VR.  I had to get weaker contact lenses and now I don't have to wear reading glasses while in VR, so it is quite a nice happenstance.  I don't know if it is the VR that did it, or just the first stress-free year of retirement.  Either way I'll take it.

[Charlo-VRde]

On 6/16/2022 at 2:46 PM, Charlo-VR said:

I do worry about that, though still put in 10-15 hours of VR flying each week. I haven’t seen my eye doctor since the pandemic started, coincidentally when I got into VR flying…

 

Saw my optometrist and he could see nothing wrong with my eyes, other than my usual need for glasses. So, my many hours of VR over the last two years have not taken a toll on my eyesight at least ?

[SidtheGit]

On 6/29/2022 at 11:58 PM, Izel said:

Moral of the story: devise with your significant others an alternative to call your attention by touching you while you are immersed in VR play.

 

 

Preferably with a broom stick or something similar so as to avoid flailing arms etc....

[Goffik]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:13 PM, savagebeest said:

I was told by a youtuber...

 

Do yourself a really, really big favour and do your own research. On everything, not just this. Being on YouTube with a million subscribers does not make someone an expert on the subject they are making videos about. Most of them know sod all, with much of their information coming from equally uninformed third parties, forum posts and the top Google result, rather than any actual knowledge or experience.

 

YouTube is not a fountain of knowledge. It is a source of income for those who are entertaining enough to reach the number of subscribers required for them to acquire paid sponsorship deals. Remember that.

[GP*]

The lenses used within VR headsets are just like reading glasses -- essentially a "+" prescription to optically move the image away from your face. This, combined with the binocular effect from two separate screens, is what creates the perception of 3 dimensions.

 

AFAIK, the focal point from these lenses is, at a minimum, 6 feet in front of the user. So, not quite optical infinity, but much better (in terms of eye strain) than a monitor. The blue light, on the other hand, may very well be suboptimal.

 

Numerous users have reported improved eyesight after gaming in VR. The reduced strain (that is, the reduction in time that the ciliary muscle is locked into a contracted state) may very well allow for a shortening along the longitudinal axis of the eyeball, which is essentially an un-doing of environmentally-induced myopia.

 

Clear as mud?

[1Sascha]

On 6/16/2022 at 10:37 PM, Hanu said:

Anything you enjoy is bad for your health.

So running/working out is bad for your health? Sex is bad for your health?

 

I'd probably rephrase that to "anything you enjoy in excess is bad for your health".

 

 

On 6/16/2022 at 10:13 PM, savagebeest said:

I was told by a youtuber

Oh, then it *must* be true, case closed. ?

 

On 6/22/2022 at 11:44 PM, BBAS_Tiki_Joe said:

Might be a little fatter around the waist

Now *that* is actually a realistic concern/possible side effect of spending too much time in front of a PC, whether you stare at a monitor or at your VR-set. I know I have gained a lot of weight in the past that way and that was well before I ever owned a VR-set. Daily walks in the woods have remedied that as of today, but I'm sure if I stopped taking those, I'd be putting all those pounds/kilos back on in no time.

 

 

Plus there's always this concern here, and I'm only bringing it up because I still find this GIF hilarious and am constantly looking for excuses to post it... :

 

S.