The Comparisons of Heart Rate Variability and Perceived Exertion during Simulated Cycling with Various Viewing Devices

摘要

The sympathovagal modulation during immersion in virtual environment might be one of the important issues influencing the complete task performance of the human. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency domain of heart rate variability and perceived exertion during virtual reality (VR) biking with different display devices. The study was a randomized 4x4 Latin square cross-over design balanced for carryover effects, involving 16 healthy, young volunteers provided with 3 viewing devices (i.e. desktop monitor, HMD, projector) and no-VR display, served as control. The subjects strived to achieve their maximal physical capacity before experiment. After a week, the quick ramp exercise test was conducted and then maintained at anaerobic threshold intensity for each session to evaluate power spectral density and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Post hoc LSD analysis showed a significant difference between no-display and projector groups for total power (TP) and very low frequency (VLF) components. There was a significant difference when comparing HMD and no-display exercise RPE curves within 6 minutes of cycling (Breslow test, p=0.0023) and at the termination of the exercise (log rank test, p=0.0026). However, the significant difference was also achieved in projector vs no-VR display comparison at the termination of the exercise (log rank test, p=0.008). In conclusion, our results indicated that using HMD and projected VR cycling system may assist in carrying out anaerobic exercise in longer duration. The fact that projected VR could reduce the TP and VLF power spectral density leads to possible implications with regard to both humeral and sympathetic activities.