Virtual worlds & interaction
An explorable place is not automatically a better one.
Virtual nature research offers early clues about scene design. It does not establish that interaction, game mechanics, or caring for a digital world improves wellbeing.
Some virtual nature studies find short-term changes
A 2023 experiment with 39 participants compared the same virtual office with and without virtual plants. The plant condition performed better on some short-term memory and creativity measures and on some self-reported measures. It tested the presence of plants in a seated office scene—not a game, ongoing world, or plant-care activity.
A separate workplace study found that short virtual nature breaks could help with some stress-recovery measures. Results varied by measure and condition, so the findings do not prove that every virtual landscape or audiovisual experience has the same effect.
Control and interaction can cut both ways
In a 2021 virtual-reality experiment with 64 participants, people either navigated a landscape themselves or were moved through it by the experimenter. Positive affect increased in both groups. Lower reported stress appeared only in the no-control condition. This is one study, but it is a useful warning: asking someone to do more can add effort instead of helping them settle.
For that reason, Biomi treats exploration as optional. You can look around, interact with small details, sit with the scene, or leave. We do not claim that exploration itself causes a clinical benefit.
What about creating or caring for a world?
The studies listed here do not test whether building a personal digital world or tending it over time improves attention, mood, or health. Research on having virtual plants in a scene is not the same as research on caring for those plants.
Biomi currently offers curated worlds to explore. Building your own world is a future direction, not a feature available today. We will not present it as a proven therapeutic activity.
Studies discussed
References are listed here so you can see exactly what informs the design. They are text, not links away from Biomi.
- “Adding virtual plants leads to higher cognitive performance and psychological well-being in virtual reality.” Scientific Reports, 13, 8053 (2023).DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34718-3
- Reese, Köhler & Menzel. “Restore or Get Restored: The Effect of Control on Stress Reduction and Restoration in Virtual Nature Settings.” Sustainability, 13(4), 1995 (2021).DOI: 10.3390/su13041995
- Ojala et al. “Short virtual nature breaks in the office environment can restore stress: An experimental study.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84, 101909 (2022).DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101909