Immersive VR-Based Mindful Walking for Student Wellbeing in Higher Education: Psychological Outcomes and Experiential Qualities

This study investigates the effects of a brief immersive VR-based mindful walking experience on university students’ psychological wellbeing and explores how experiential qualities of the VR environment relate to these effects. Nineteen university students participated in a single-session VR mindful walking intervention conducted in a natural virtual environment. State mindfulness and state stress were assessed before and after the intervention, while presence and restorativeness were measured after the intervention. Results showed a significant increase in state mindfulness and a significant reduction in state
stress. Correlation analyses further indicated that restorativeness was significantly associated with both post-intervention mindfulness and stress, whereas presence was significantly associated with stress but not with mindfulness. Based on these findings, a preliminary conceptual framework of immersive VR mindful movement experience for student wellbeing in higher education is proposed. The results suggest that movement-based mindfulness experience in VR may represent a promising digital wellbeing approach for supporting stress regulation and mindfulness among university students.