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Virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly well-known over the last few years. However, little is known about the side-effects of prolonged immersion in VR. This study set out to investigate the frequency of occurrence and severity of side-effects of using an immersion VR system. Out of 146 subjects, 61% reported symptoms of malaise at some point during a 20-min immersion and 10-min post-immersion period. These ranged from symptoms such as dizziness, stomach awareness, headaches, eyestrain and lightheadedness to severe nausea. These symptoms caused 5% of the subjects to withdraw from the experiment before completing their 20-min immersion period. Further research needs to be conducted that attempts to identify those factors that play a causative role in the side-effects of the VR system, and that looks for methods of reducing these side-effects.

A group of military servicemen were deprived of sleep for 65 h while they carried out a simulated military mission with a high visual workload. Their performance in a series of near vision tests was monitored. In general, the visual system was found to be resilient to the stress of sleep loss, the subjects experiencing mild symptoms of asthenopia (eyestrain). However, after 48 h without sleep there was a reduction in amplitude of convergent fusional reserves and a decrease in contrast sensitivity to a spatial frequency of 6 cycles/degree. A disruption in diurnal rhythms for these parameters was suggested. The results are considered in terms of the maintenance of visual efficiency and comfort with loss of sleep, and have implications for both the military and civilians involved in shift work and long work schedules.