{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T19:03:55Z","timestamp":1782846235170,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"ECMS","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The present study evaluates the comparative efficacy of immersive virtual reality (VR) relaxation, delivered as a simulation of natural environments, in reducing stress and anxiety when compared with traditional relaxation methods. A randomised controlled experiment was conducted over a period of five consecutive working days (N=50). Participants were assigned to either a virtual reality (VR) intervention using a standalone head-mounted display (Meta Quest 3) with Nature Treks VR, which offers multiple simulated natural scenes and optional active exploration, or a time-matched control intervention (relaxation music, breathing techniques, or short meditation). Each session was scheduled to last 15 minutes. The participants' psychological states were measured using the PSS-10 and STAI-X1 at the beginning of the study and after the intervention cycle. In addition, the daily subjective relaxation of the participants was recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Physiological measures (heart rate and blood pressure) were collected before and after each daily session under standardised conditions. The two interventions produced significant within-group reductions in perceived stress and state anxiety. The study results demonstrated a heightened subjective relaxation response in the virtual reality condition, as indicated by the visual analogue scale (VAS), and a substantial reduction in diastolic blood pressure. However, the analysis did not yield conclusive results for the PSS-10 and STAI-X1 between-group differences.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7148\/2026-0731","type":"proceedings-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T18:08:43Z","timestamp":1782842923000},"page":"731-739","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Virtual reality as a therapeutic tool for reducing stress and anxiety"],"prefix":"10.7148","author":[{"given":"Piotr","family":"Spadlo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Piotr","family":"Labedz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"4144","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"event":{"name":"40th ECMS International Conference on Modelling and Simulation"},"container-title":["ECMS 2026 Proceedings edited by Filippo Sanfilippo, Florenc Demrozi, Fabio Sgarbossa, Mohammad Poursina"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T18:08:47Z","timestamp":1782842927000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.scs-europe.net\/dlib\/2026\/ecms2026acceptedpapers\/0731_3dmod_ecms2026_0092.pdf"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7148\/2026-0731","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]]}}}