Dr. Aris conducted an investigation to see if participating in an interactive virtual reality (VR) mindfulness session affected heart-rate levels in corporate office employees during high-stress project deadlines.

He used two groups of office employees from a financial firm as his participants:

• Condition A: 30 corporate workers who completed a 15-minute immersive VR mindfulness session.
• Condition B: 30 corporate workers who spent 15 minutes sitting quietly in a standard office breakroom.

He measured the change in each participant's heart rate in beats per minute (BPM) using an optical wrist sensor from immediately before to immediately after the 15-minute interval.