As many college students hit an extreme period of change in their 20s, full of loneliness and stress, the contemplation and anxiety surrounding the premise of death skyrockets. According to medical publications such as PubMed, a phenomenon known as death anxiety spikes in most people’s 20s and then declines until a period around their 50s.
In order to investigate and attempt to combat this mental battle, Texas A&M researchers conducted a pilot study that used a virtual reality, or VR, simulation to place numerous students in a near-death experience for roughly 12 minutes.
After completing these sessions, there was a significant drop in anxiety and fear revolving around death. Led by assistant professor Zhipeng Lu, Ph.D., and his doctoral student, Parya Khandan, these sessions were conducted on around 60 students in the hopes of proving that technology can play an essential role in possibly mitigating a significant mental health crisis.
“They wore a VR headset, and they went to a near-death experience simulation where they saw common scenes like floating about their body, being in a peaceful nature or in a light tunnel and being reunited with their loved ones,” Khandan said. “After the VR experience, actually before and after the VR experience, we measured their stress level and their fear of death using validated questionnaires, and we realized that most of the participants showed lower stress, and they felt less afraid of death afterward, which shows that VR can positively affect emotional well-being.”
Taking note of this success, Lu acknowledged that they would like to continue this pilot study by proposing to the National Institutes of Health that they conduct a similar study on terminally ill patients in the future.
“They are more vulnerable, right?” Lu asked. “Before applying this AI-assisted VR near-death experience simulation intervention to those vulnerable populations, we want to test that in a relatively healthier population. That was the intention about why we conduct this study in college students. But the result was kind of surprising to us as well.”
Under the scope of a more focused lens, this type of virtual aid may help college students cope with the many stresses that come with work, classes and the general challenge of living on one’s own for the first time.
“So our findings suggest that a simple VR experience like this could be used as a new kind of wellness tool on campus,” Khandan said. “It would help the students to relax, to reset mentally and think more positively about life, especially during stressful times like final week. So I think in this way, this VR tool can be very helpful for college students.”
Not only can this type of virtual care decrease death anxiety, but it can also help soothe mental ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder through the peace that the aftermath provides. This type of environmental coordination with health is exactly what Lu is fascinated by and strives to incorporate at A&M.
“So that’s why we are really interested in how the environment affects people’s health,” Lu said. “Not only about the built environment, but also the natural and virtual environment. Some of the colleagues asking, ‘Hey, why are you looking at the VR? Why are you looking at, you know, the near-death experience?’ The idea behind that is that how we learn from the near-death experience is all environment related. Although it’s a virtual environment.”
Due to the potential enormity of this VR phenomenon, Khandan and Lu have not been working alone. Interim Department Head of Counseling at Tarleton State University, Ryan Foster, Ph.D., has worked closely alongside the project to interpret the psychological connotations of each step, along with co-author Benjamin Ennemoser, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Architecture at A&M. This project was also conducted with Olera Inc. and the International Association of Near-Death Experience Studies, the latter providing the virtual reality video. While this study is ongoing, it has proved to decrease negative emotions substantially, especially those regarding death and anxiety.
“This study shows that technology can be used in a meaningful way to support people’s mental health and emotional well-being,” Khandan said. “And I want them to know that the VR is not just for gaming. It can help people feel calmer, more helpful and more connected to what matters in their lives.”
