Light Me Up! Ambient Light Increases Heart Rate and Perceived Exertion during High-Intensity Virtual Reality Exergaming

Abstract

The prevalence of sedentary lifestyles has led to an increase in health issues. A promising approach to promote physical activity is VR exergames, which offer gamified fitness activities. VR exergames benefit from being personalised, e.g. through using real-time heart rate. Yet, the impact of visualising heart rate for physiological and psychological factors remains unclear. This study investigates the impact of red-coloured ambient light, adjusted based on real-time heart rate. In a user study, we compared two versions of the game: with and without ambient red light. Our findings show that red ambient light significantly increased the participants’ heart rate as well as perceived exertion during intense phases of the game. In qualitative feedback, participants had ambivalent opinions about the use of red ambient light. We contribute insights on the design of VR exergames to influence users’ exertion based on colour changes in ambient light.