On a sunny afternoon, after lunch and bingo, residents at Castle Argyle, a senior living community in the Hollywood Hills, were ready for a trip to the Greek island of Santorini.
“This has been on my bucket list for over 40 years,” said Mary Sue Escamilla, 73, wearing Mediterranean-appropriate flip-flops and a sparkly anklet.
The residents settled into their seats and strapped on headsets. Their views panned past whitewashed houses on a volcanic outcropping. Pat Bridges, 79, turned to Escamilla. “Do people actually live there, Mary?” Bridges gripped her armrests, peering toward the cerulean waters of the Aegean Sea.
The residents were participating in a pilot program at Castle Argyle: virtual-reality experiences for older users, designed to be used in senior living communities.
“We specifically look at how we can bring older adults together who have an opportunity to build relationships, but might be missing that kind of relational glue that’s created through sharing personal anecdotes and stories,” said Kyle Rand, co-founder and chief executive of Rendever, the company that makes the headsets.
At Castle Argyle, Tatiana Hernandez, the social services coordinator, adjusted Bridges’s headset over her glasses and reminded the residents to turn to the right to look at the 15th-century fortress. After the five-minute excursion, she asked the residents about their favorite part.
“Oh, I loved the color of the ocean,” said Escamilla. “The only question is, Which bikini should I bring?”
Loneliness and isolation have serious ramifications for older adults. Studies have shown that social disconnection can have the same impact on mortality as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. This kind of isolation is also associated with a 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia and a 32 percent increased risk of stroke.
With V.R. programming, companies aim to offer older adults a way to counter social isolation through shared experiences. Some programs are specifically designed as part of physical therapy, particularly for rehabilitation after a stroke.
V.R. technology is well suited for older users, especially those with limited mobility. Movement inside a V.R. device mimics how people move naturally: Turn to the left to look left, lean in to see a close-up. And the experiences are designed to be brief — most are under 10 minutes — which helps with common concerns like nausea and eye strain.
Through the pilot program last fall, which ran at Castle Argyle and two other communities for older adults, Rendever found that over eight weeks of V.R. experiences most residents reported a decrease in loneliness and an increase in social connection.
“When V.R. is done well, you get mentally transported to a place,” said Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University. “That can bring you moments of awe and moments of joy, which have incredible value in the moment, and are incredible conversation starters.”
In his research, Bailenson noted the possibility of meaningful effects on mood and socialization: A few minutes together on a virtual hike or sunset cruise can change a silent dinner to a lively conversation about past travel experiences. He likened it to a recent trip with his octogenarian mother to Italy.
“Part of the benefit of the travel is that when she goes home, she talks about it,” he said.
“I used to walk four or five miles a day, but now, I don’t really get out of the building,” said Bridges, who uses a walker. “It’s overwhelming to me.” She said the V.R. experiences helped her manage that anxiety, and encounter parts of the world that she had always dreamed of visiting.
“In the back of your mind, you’d think, I would have loved to do that in person, but this was second best,” she said. “Afterwards, I go back upstairs and I feel so relaxed.”
Eighty miles east of Castle Argyle is the Plymouth Village senior living community, structured more like a miniature suburb.
At the community’s recreation center, several residents prepared to go on a V.R. hike at Glacier National Park. Gail McLaughlin, 77, set down her oxygen tank and parked her walker; Lynda Morgan, 87, took off her trifocals. They strapped on headsets and virtually made their way along a narrow footpath, through fields of spring wildflowers and copses of spruce and pine. As the camera lingered, the women traced a butterfly’s path across the screen.
“Oh, this brings back memories,” said McLaughlin, who used to go backpacking often with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. She told the group about her years living in Seattle, hiking up past the snow line on Mount Rainier. “It was really neat to see icebergs in July, on little mountain lakes,” she said, adding an aside to herself: “I’ve been thinking, I want to pull those photos out.”
Ashley Mancebo, director of community life at Plymouth Village, opened Google Maps inside the Rendever V.R. view and typed in the address of Morgan’s former home in Angelus Oaks, an unincorporated community surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest.
“That was my home for 31 years,” Morgan said. She showed her fellow residents around her old life: where her late husband built a rose garden for her, the red schoolhouse that has since closed down, the road to the restaurant that they owned and managed together.
“I was never a hiker, but here I can go on those hikes that my husband loved,” she said.
As she sees it, the V.R. experiences will be especially valuable once her mobility is more limited. “It’s a comfort to know that it’s available to me when I need more care,” Morgan said.
While V.R. products are often used in group settings within aging communities, they’re also found in memory care units, stroke rehabilitation centers and cancer clinics. Chris Brickler, the chief executive of Mynd Immersive, said he started the company in 2016 after witnessing his father-in-law experience Alzheimer’s disease. The company’s programmed headsets have been used in 800 living facilities and outpatient clinics across the United States. One 10-part series focuses on famous spots along Route 66.
“It allows the brain of someone who did that trip 40 years ago to relive it,” Brickler said. “The technology can really unlock someone’s mood and disposition for the day.”
Last year, the Veterans Affairs Department started offering Mynd Immersive products at V.A. hospitals. Doctors can prescribe the V.R. tools for veterans to manage conditions including PTSD, isolation and cognitive decline.
“If we can help people manage their pain, anxiety and depression more effectively at home, that prevents them from needing to go to clinic,” Brickler said.
The cost of programming is generally handled by the care facilities; the residents don’t pay anything for it, and insurance isn’t involved.
One ongoing challenge is reaching more withdrawn older adults. In many senior living communities, there’s a small group of residents who often participate in activities, whether it’s a memoir club, water aerobics or V.R., while other residents stay in their rooms.
“It’s selective,” said Janine Jones, 74, who lives at Castle Argyle. “The same people talk to each other, and others just don’t talk at all.”
Still, for those willing to try it, V.R. can expand what feels possible.
“It shows you that there are people interested in stuff beyond just living and existing,” Bridges said, chatting with fellow residents over Golden Oreos and cranberry juice after her virtual trip to Santorini. “It’s an escape from reality.”
“And from boredom,” Jones said. “I’d rather go to Italy than sit at home and watch the TV.”
The post How Older Adults Are Using V.R. to Counter Social Isolation appeared first on New York Times.
