Viewing a Hot Virtual Environment Helps the Body Cool Off During Exercise

Amplifying this thermoregulatory pathway boosts the control of body temperature during exercise, could benefit athletes and military personnel

Baltimore (April 25, 2025)—Simply watching virtual reality (VR) scenes of a warm environment during exercise may influence physiologic processes that control body temperature. Early findings suggest that viewing hot scenes increases sweating, helping the body cool down more efficiently during exercise. This research raises the possibility that adding VR to a training program could boost how athletes and people in certain occupations become accustomed to physical activity in the heat. Researchers will present their findings at the 2025 American Physiology Summit in Baltimore. The Summit is the flagship annual meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS).

Five college-aged women rode a stationary bicycle for 40 minutes while watching one of two VR scenes on an app called “Nature Treks VR.” Viewing “Red Earth” immersed participants in what appeared to be a hot day in the Australian outback, incorporating warm colors such as red, orange and yellow. The “White Winter” VR environment depicted a cold, snowy day in a valley filled with trees and wildlife.

Participants performed the same cycling intensity under identical environmental conditions of 72 degrees F. When researchers compared responses to different VR conditions, participants’ core body temperatures rose significantly less (by approximately 0.36 degrees F) when viewing a hot VR environment compared to a cold one. An increased sweating response when viewing the hot VR likely explains the change. Although not statistically significant, viewing a hot landscape caused participants to sweat about 20 grams more than when they viewed a frozen landscape, helping to cool their bodies.

Researchers say these early findings suggest that viewing a warm virtual environment likely amplifies input to temperature-controlling neural pathways, boosting the body’s response to exercise.

“Athletes or military personnel may be able to train for more extreme environments without having to physically travel to these zones,” said Natasha Ragland, a graduate student at Boston University and first author of the study. “Our findings suggest that simply viewing a hot environment can act as a powerful stimulus for thermoregulatory processes, and it may play a larger role than we had previously thought.”

Ragland and her research team used simple and relatively inexpensive equipment to conduct their study: an insulated grow tent, a space heater, a dehumidifier and a VR headset.

Further research into supplementing traditional training with simulated environments could help the body adapt to heat more quickly. Future studies could explore VR as a cost-effective tool for heat acclimation, enhancing health and safety measures for athletes, military personnel, firefighters or outdoor workers who encounter extreme temperatures.

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: The American Physiology Summit will be held April 24–27, 2025, in Baltimore. To schedule an interview with the researchers, conference organizers or presenters, or to request abstract A-1427, “Viewing a Hot Virtual Reality Augments Thermoregulatory Responses, Lowering Body Temperature During Prolonged Exercise,” contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314. Find more highlights from the meeting in our Newsroom.

Physiology is a broad area of scientific inquiry that focuses on how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. The American Physiological Society connects a global, multidisciplinary community of more than 10,000 biomedical scientists and educators as part of its mission to advance scientific discovery, understand life and improve health. The Society drives collaboration and spotlights scientific discoveries through its 16 scholarly journals and programming that support researchers and educators in their work.