LOS GATOS, California. — Like many retirement communitiesThe terraces provide a tranquil haven for a group of seniors who can no longer travel to faraway places or take part in daring adventures.
But they can still return to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking when caretakers of a Los Gatos, Calif., community set a date for residents—many of them in their 80s and 90s—to take turns wearing virtual reality headsets.
In minutes, the headsets can transport them to Europe, plunge them into the depths of the ocean, or go on breathtaking hang gliding expeditions while they sit next to each other. The selection of VR programs was curated by Rendever, which has at times become an isolating company. form of technology into a catalyst for improving cognition and social connection in 800 retirement communities in the US and Canada.
A group of residents of The Terraces who took part in a virtual reality session earlier this year found themselves paddling with their arms next to chairs while swimming with a pod of dolphins and watching one of Rendever's films. 3D programs. “We had to go underwater and we didn’t even have to hold our breath!” exclaimed 81-year-old Ginny Baird after the virtual dive.
During a virtual hot air balloon session, one resident exclaimed, “Oh my God!” Another winced: “It’s hard to watch!”
Rendever's technology can also be used to virtually return seniors to their desired locations. where did they grow up like children. For some, this will be the first time in decades they have seen their hometowns.
A virtual trip to her childhood neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York helped 84-year-old Sue Livingston become a believer in the benefits of virtual reality technology, although she may still get outside more often than many residents of The Terraces, located in Silicon Valley about 55 miles south of San Francisco.
“It’s not just about being able to see it again, it’s about all the memories it brings back,” Livingston said. “There are a few people who live here who never really leave their comfort zone. But if you can get them to come down and try out the headset, they might find that they really like it.”
Adrian Marshall, director of community life at The Terraces, said that once word of a virtual reality experience spreads from one resident to another, more of the uninitiated usually become curious enough to try it — even if it means giving up playing “Mexican Train,” a domino-like board game that is popular in the community.
“It becomes a conversation starter for them. It really brings people together,” Marshall said of Rendever's VR programs. “It helps create a human bridge that helps them realize that they have certain similarities and interests. It turns the artificial world into reality.”
Rendever, a private company based in Somerville, Massachusetts, hopes to develop its platform for older adults with the help of a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health that will provide nearly $4.5 million to study ways to reduce social isolation among older people living at home and their caregivers.
Some research found that virtual reality programs presented in a limited viewing format can help older adults maintain and improve cognitive function, improve memories, and strengthen social connections with their families and other residents care facilities. Experts say technology can be useful as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, other activities.
“There's always a risk of spending too much time in front of a screen,” says Catherine “Kate” Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies aging at Sheridan College in Canada. “But if used carefully, with meaning and purpose, it can be very beneficial. It can be an opportunity for older people to connect with someone and share a sense of wonder.”
Virtual reality headsets can be an easier way for older adults to interact with technology, rather than fiddling with a smartphone or other device that requires navigation buttons or other mechanisms, says Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who studies the use of virtual reality with older adults.
“Stereotypes that older people are reluctant to try new technologies need to change because they are ready and willing to adapt to technologies that are meaningful to them,” Bhowmick said. “In addition to helping them relieve stress, have fun and connect with others, there is an intergenerational aspect that can help them build their relationships with younger people who find out they are using VR and say, 'Grandpa is cool!'”
Rendever CEO Kyle Rand's interest in helping his grandmother cope with the emotional and mental challenges of aging set him on a path that led him to co-founding the company in 2016 after studying neural engineering at Duke University.
“What really fascinates me about people is how much our brains rely on social connections and how much we learn from others,” Rand said. “A group of older residents who don’t really know each other very well can get together, spend 30 minutes together in virtual reality, and then sit down to lunch together, continuing the conversation about the experience.”
It's a big enough market that another virtual reality specialist, Dallas-based Mynd Immersive, competes with Rendever by providing services tailored to senior communities.
In addition to helping create social connectionsVR programs from Rendever and Mynd have been used as a possible tool to potentially slow down the detrimental effects of dementia. That's how another Silicon Valley retirement village, Forum, sometimes uses the technology.
Bob Rogallo, a Forum resident who has dementia that has left him speechless, appeared to be enjoying a virtual walk through Montana's Glacier National Park as he nodded and smiled while celebrating his 83rd birthday with his 61-year-old wife.
Sally Rogallo, who does not have dementia, said the experience brought back fond memories of the couple's visits to the same park during the more than 30 years they spent traveling around the US in their recreational vehicle.
“It made me wish I was 30 years younger to do it again,” she said of the virtual visit to Glacier. “It allows you to get out of your previous environment and either go somewhere new or visit places you’ve already been.”
At another Forum session, 93-year-old Almut Schultz laughed with delight as she watched a virtual classical music performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, and later appeared eager to play with a frolicking puppy in her VR headset.
“We had quite a session there,” Schultz said with a big smile after she took off her headset and returned to reality.
