Virtual reality (VR) has become popular in mental health research. Several studies have explored the use of VR in the context of biofeedback protocols. In the present paper, we report on the development and evaluation of a VR-based respiratory biofeedback game to foster diaphragmatic breathing. The game integrates respiratory biofeedback, restorative VR and gamification. The game is designed to run on a mobile, all-in-one VR headset. Notably, an integrated VR hand controller is utilized as a sensor to detect respiration-induced movements of the diaphragm. In a longitudinal within-subjects study, we explored the feasibility of the game and tested the effectiveness of six training sessions. Participants reported a pleasant user experience. Moreover, the results show that the brief VR-based breathing training increased perceived breath awareness, improved diaphragmatic breathing, increased relaxation, decreased perceived stress, reduced symptoms of burnout and boosted relaxation-related self-efficacy. Future studies need to address the generalizability and long-term stability of the results, compare the approach with existing treatments and fine-tune the training components.

虚拟现实（VR）在心理健康研究中变得很流行。多项研究探索了在生物反馈方案中使用VR的情况。在本文中，我们报告了基于VR的呼吸生物反馈游戏以促进diaphragm肌呼吸的发展和评估。该游戏集成了呼吸生物反馈，恢复性VR和游戏化功能。该游戏旨在在移动式多合一VR头盔上运行。值得注意的是，集成的VR手控制器被用作传感器来检测呼吸引起的隔膜运动。在一项纵向的受试者内部研究中，我们探索了游戏的可行性，并测试了六次培训课程的有效性。参与者报告了愉快的用户体验。此外，结果表明，基于VR的简短呼吸训练可增强感知的呼吸意识，改善diaphragm肌呼吸，增加放松，减少感知压力，减轻倦怠症状并增强与放松相关的自我效能感。未来的研究需要解决结果的可推广性和长期稳定性，将方法与现有治疗方法进行比较，并对培训内容进行微调。