IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY EXPOSURE ON TEAR FILM STABILITY AND VISUAL FUNCTIONS: A REVIEW

Abstract

Background: Virtual reality technologies, which include equipment attached to a powerful computer with a high-resolution screen, are utilized in gaming, education, and professional settings, producing tear-film instability and affecting other visual capabilities like as visual acuity, color vision, and stereopsis. Objective: The study aimed to assess how Virtual Reality exposure affects tear film integrity and visual functioning in young people.

Methods: We did a systematic analysis of PubMed and Scopus from 2021-2025, organizing data into categories such as tear film physiological processes, blinking behavior, VR-induced visual strain, accommodation-vergence conflict, stereopsis, and color vision alterations. Studies that did not provide visual or tear film assessments, used non-VR digital equipment, or lacked methodological clarity were excluded. The data was evaluated and summarized to identify common tendencies.

Results: Research indicates that virtual reality exposure leads to thicker tear film lipid layers and higher ocular temperatures. VR headset use lowers blink rate by 40-50 percent, although dryness does not vary much. VR can cause vergence and accommodation changes, resulting in minor myopic refraction and increased accommodation lag, particularly in people who already have binocular vision difficulties. Due to reduced accommodation amplitude, continuous VR exposure induces visual fatigue, eye strain, and simulator sickness. Transient IOP decrease was also observed, indicating potential for glaucoma treatment. Conclusion: Short-term exposure to virtual reality affects tear film, binocular system, accommodation, as well as visual fatigue. VR reduces near point of convergence (NPC) and near point of accommodation (NPA), however chronic usage produces eye strain, visual fatigue, and moderate simulator sickness. VR's periocular warming helps treat dry eyes and lowers IOP.