Healio: ‘The Mind Is Medicine’ | How Virtual Reality Can Cool Bothersome Hot Flashes

Healio recently interviewed Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, director of Health Services Research and professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, about the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets to help relieve menopause symptoms.

Spiegel told Healio that evidence suggests cognitive behavioral therapy accessed through VR could help manage hot flashes caused by hormonal fluctuations, as well as resulting distress and anxiety.

“We are working with women experiencing menopause and learning from them to co-develop a new therapy, currently underway,” said Spiegel, who is the George and Dorothy Gourrich Chair in Digital Health Ethics.

Spiegel told Healio that headsets with immersive virtual content—such as snowy scenes or the sound of wind blowing—could help cool the body.

“There is evidence that when the brain is immersed in VR, it thinks it is there,” he said, referencing other studies involving VR and symptom management. “Even if you know it is a simulation, the brain acts as if it is real. You hear wind rustling in your ears and literally start to feel your body cooling down.”

Spiegel told Healio that women experiencing menopause symptoms also can use VR headsets to play games or to meditate, helping divert attention away from bothersome symptoms.

“The mind is medicine,” he said. “This is an easy thing to say—and it sounds a little woo-woo—but the brain and the body are connected. The brain will send signals through the vagus nerve and if we modify the brain in moments of distress, we do modify the body.”

Spiegel told Healio the goal is to help patients eventually manage symptoms without a headset.

“What VR is teaching people is that you do have this ability to control your body’s physiology, through your own mind,” he said.

Click here to read the complete article from Healio.