LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — Like many retirement communities, The Terraces is a tranquil retreat for a core of seniors who can no longer travel to far-flung places or embark on daring adventures.

But they can still find themselves transported when caretakers at the community in Los Gatos, California, make an appointment for residents — many of them octogenarians and nonagenarians — to take turns putting on the virtual reality headsets. (RV).

In a matter of minutes, the goggles transport them to Europe, plunge them into the depths of the ocean or launch them on impressive hang-gliding expeditions while sitting together. The VR programming selection was selected by Rendever, a company that has turned a sometimes isolating technology into a catalyst for better cognition and social connections in 800 retirement communities in the United States and Canada.

Residents of The Terraces who participated in a VR session earlier this year, paddled with their arms on the side of their chairs while they swam with a pod of dolphins and watched one of Rendever's 3D shows. “We were able to go underwater and we didn't even have to hold our breath!” exclaimed Ginny Baird, 81, after the virtual dive.

During a session that included a virtual hot air balloon ride, one resident exclaimed, “Oh my God!” Another shuddered: “It's impressive to see!”

Rendever's technology can also be used to virtually transport seniors to the places where they grew up. For some, it's the first time they've seen their hometowns in decades.

A virtual trip to her childhood neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York City helped convince Sue Livingstone, 84, of the benefits of virtual reality technology, even though she can still get out more often than many residents of The Terraces, located in Silicon Valley, about 88 kilometers south of San Francisco.

“It's not just about being able to see it again, but about all the memories it evokes,” explained Livingstone. “There are some people who live here and never leave their comfort zone. But if you could convince them to come try a device, they might find that they really enjoy it.”

Adrian Marshall, director of community life at The Terraces, said that once word spreads about a VR experience from one resident to another, more people who haven't experienced it become curious enough to try it — even if it means missing Mexican Train, a domino-like board game that's popular in the community.

“It becomes a topic of conversation for them. It really connects people," Marshall added of Rendever's VR programming. "It helps create a human bridge that allows them to realize that they share certain similarities and interests. Turn the artificial world into a reality.”

Rendever—a private company based in Somerville, Massachusetts—hopes to expand its platform for seniors thanks to a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will provide nearly $4.5 million to study ways to reduce social isolation among seniors living at home and their caregivers.

Some studies have shown that VR programming presented in a limited viewing format can help seniors maintain and improve their cognitive functions, strengthen memory and foster social connections with their families and with other residents of care centers. Experts say that technology can be useful as a complement—but not a substitute—for other activities.

“There is always a risk of spending too much time in front of the screen,” explained Katherine “Kate” Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies issues related to aging at Sheridan College in Canada. “But if you use it carefully, with meaning and purpose, it can be very useful. It can be an opportunity for older adults to interact with someone and share a sense of wonder.”

VR headsets can be an easier way for older people to interact with technology instead of having to operate buttons or other mechanisms, said Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who studies the use of VR with older adults.

“Stereotypes that older people are not willing to try new technologies need to change, because they are willing and want to adapt to technologies that are meaningful to them,” he added. Bhowmick. “In addition to helping them relieve stress, entertain themselves and connect with other people, there is an intergenerational aspect that could help them build relationships with younger people who discover that (the older ones) use VR and say, ‘Grandpa is cool!’”

Rendever CEO Kyle Rand's interest in helping his grandmother deal with the emotional and mental challenges of aging prompted him to co-found the company in 2016 after studying neuroengineering at Duke University.

“What really fascinates me about humans is how much our brains depend on social connection and how much we learn from others,” Rand said. “A group of older residents who don't know each other well can get together, spend 30 minutes in a VR experience, and then sit down to lunch together while talking about the experience.”

The market is so large that Mynd Immersive, another company that specializes in VR, based in Dallas, competes with Rendever with services designed for senior living communities.

In addition to helping create social connections, VR programming from both Rendever and Mynd has been used as a potential tool. to slow the harmful effects of dementia. And that's how Forum—another retirement home in Silicon Valley—sometimes uses technology.

Bob Rogallo, a resident with speechless dementia who lives at Forum, seemed to enjoy a virtual hike through Glacier National Park in Montana as he nodded and smiled as he celebrated his 83rd birthday with his wife, to whom he has been married for 61 years.

Sallie Rogallo, who does not have dementia, said the experience It brought back fond memories of the couple's visits to that same park during the more than 30 years they toured the United States in their motor home. “It made me wish I was 30 years younger so I could do it again,” he said of the virtual visit to Glacier. “This lets you get out of the same environment and either visit a new place or places you've already been.”

In another Forum session, Almut Schultz, 93, laughed with delight as she watched a virtual classical music performance at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, and later seemed to want to play with a puppy running around inside her virtual reality headset.

“It was an amazing session we had there,” Schultz said with a big smile afterward. Take off the visor and return to reality.