I ripped off the headset, afraid I was going to throw up. I shouted for help. My partner found me in the fetal position in a cold sweat on the bathroom floor.

I had spent just an hour in the metaverse dressing my avatar, making faces in the virtual mirror, and learning to raise my virtual wristwatch to adjust system settings. Now, I couldn’t open my eyes without seeing the virtual grid echoed in the tile floor, demarcating the boundary where I had crossed into unsafe territory.

I had been aware that nausea was a potential risk of VR. I had read accounts of cybersickness, motion sickness, “VR hangovers.” I’d even known that women are more likely to experience disorientation in VR because of subtle physiological differences from men....

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