Effects of a Personalized Comfort Place and Breathing Exercise in Virtual Reality for Subjective Stress Reduction: A Randomized Controlled Trial

People are regularly exposed to stressful situations in their daily lives. Many strategies and interventions exist to cope with stress. These include breathing exercises, which can contribute to relaxation. These exercises help people manage stressful situations more effectively. One of these exercises is the 4-4-4-4 box breathing (inhale four seconds, hold four seconds, exhale four seconds, hold again for four seconds). Additionally, studies have shown that incorporating virtual reality (VR) with calming environments can further enhance the effectiveness of such stress reduction exercises. Research has also found evidence suggesting a possible link between considering individuals' preferences when choosing a location in VR and their well-being and mood. Furthermore, there is evidence suggesting that people who tend to use the emotion regulation strategy "reappraisal" experience more positive affect and higher well-being than people who use emotion regulation strategy "suppression". The present study aims to explore if a personalized comfort place in VR in combination with a breathing exercise can enhance the stress reduction compared to a predetermined comfort place and a 2D-Version of the predefined comfort place (both in combination with the breathing exercise). This will take place in laboratory where participants do the breathing exercise for five minutes after a stress induction. Depending on the condition participants are in, they can create their own AI-generated comfort place choosing several keywords or they get a predefined comfort place or the 2D-Version. Furthermore, this study aims to explore possible moderating effects of different emotion regulation strategies on stress reduction. Additionally, it will be investigated whether there are any correlations with trait anxiety and stress levels. Data collection occurs through the administration of questionnaires on stress, emotional regulation and trait anxiety.