MINDFUL breathing, which involves focusing one’s attention on breathing patterns, can alleviate pain in some cases, but people often struggle to maintain long-term attention.
Recent studies suggest that virtual reality (VR)-guided breathing can also reduce pain, with the interactive nature of VR making it easier to main-tain attention.
In a new study, VR-guided breathing led to a similar increase in the ability to withstand pain as tradi-tional mindful breathing.
The study also found that the two breathing exer-cises may reduce pain by modulating different brain pathways.
Doctors often prescribe opioids for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. However, opioids have a high potentialTrusted Source for misuse, and long-term opioid use can lead to dependence.
Consequently, in recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on finding safer pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches to alleviating pain.
Several studiesTrusted Source have shown that mindful breathing has analgesic, or pain-relieving, effects. Thus, mindful breathing could be a safer alternative to pharmacological methods for relieving pain.
Mindful breathing requires individuals to focus their attention on their own internal experience, specifi-cally the sensation of inhaling and exhaling.
Mindful breathing can be particularly difficult for beginners, as it involves focusing on an internal sensation for longer periods. VR-guided breathing has the potential to address this challenge.
VR allows individuals to interact with a computer-generated, three-dimensional, immersive environ-ment.
Studies show that engaging with the external stimu-lus in the form of the immersive, or realistic, sen-sory environment that a VR system presents can help reduce pain.
However, scientists do not fully understand the mechanism by which VR modulates brain activity to reduce pain perception.
Experts believe that the amount of attention directed at the painful experience modulates the perception of pain.
Engaging with VR requires visual and audi-tory attention, and this distraction reduces the atten-tion directed toward pain.
