Festival goers get to experience nature through VR

Dr Sam Hughes said being immersed in nature via virtual reality could help improve mental health and reduce pain

Festival goers will be able to try virtual reality (VR) nature experiences that researchers say can help with mental health and pain relief.

Dr Sam Hughes of the University of Exeter is to exhibit the benefits of nature though VR, art, sound and film at Glastonbury Festival later this month.

The director of Exeter Pain Lab said immersing people in nature can reduce the amount of pain they feel and VR made nature accessible to those with mobility issues.

Dr Hughes said the festival was "a great way to showcase the ability to use VR to deliver nature and its benefits to people from the comfort of their own homes".

'Nature at home'

He said the VR headsets would immerse festival goers in environments including forests, mountains and lakes.

He said: "Pain is inherently a psychological construct.

"If we can immerse people in nature what we've found is that this can actually reduce the amount of pain people experience."

While "real nature is always going to be the gold standard", he added, VR can deliver "some of these beneficial therapeutic effects of nature at home".

The immersive experience is part of Brainwaves and Birdsong, a public engagement initiative by a team of scientists, mural artists, music composers and wildlife documentary makers.

The project is funded through the Chronic Pain Neurotechnology Network.

Glastonbury Festival is set to run from 25 to 29 June at Worthy Farm in Somerset.