A study by Aalborg University in Denmark has shown that using virtual reality can help the elderly become more physically active – by making exercise safe and more fun.

The study was conducted by creating a virtual reality space at a nursing home – using TV screens and VR goggles – and then placing exercise bikes in the centre of it.

Residents were asked to exercise using the bikes, while VR footage was streamed to headsets and screens in order to create a feeling of riding through a virtual landscape.

Participants could choose from a number of virtual routes – such as riding through a park, through a snowy pine forest or up a mountain – and the footage was synchronised to match the speed at which the residents were cycling, adding to the feeling of “being there”.

“The study showed that seniors were motivated to increase their exercise levels thanks to the experience,” says project leader Jon Ram Bruun-Pedersen from the Multisensory Experience Lab at Aalborg University.

“Many felt as if they had to pedal extra hard to get up the hill on the screen — even though they really didn’t feel higher resistance on the bike.”

Pedersen said by using virtual reality, the experiment had successfully removed some of the barriers which had previously prevented some of the residents from exercising – such as concerns over safety and making exercise “more interesting”.

“As a rule, the elderly residents weren’t that motivated to exercise, partly because getting moving again after a long period of inactivity can cause pain – and also because it’s not that motivating to sit and look at a wall while you bike,” he said.

“This is really positive,” Pedersen said. “Partly because it is good for the residents to get more physically active, but also because it lets them experience ‘getting out’ of the nursing home and experience the world in a safe way – even if it’s a virtual world.”