|
Recently I went on a dinner cruise for my papa’s birthday. It was a huge boat on Lake George and before we had even left the dock before I had even a sip of my first drink - I felt dizzy.
I am a victim of motion sickness.
I have been my whole life. Every car ride, every cruise, every ride at the amusement park puts me into a dizzy spell that leaves me nauseous and feeling terrible.
 Researchers don’t know what makes one person more susceptible to motion sickness than another. It’s most common in children 5 – 12, older adults, and can affect people at varying levels of severity.
According to Dr. Dean Burnett, author of Idiot Brain, one common theory is that motion sickness occurs because the brain is confused that you are sitting down, but it’s receiving signals that you’re in motion. Image Credit
Common forms of human travel – walking and running – come with a specific set of neurological processes. Humans have adapted to the steady “thud” and pressure on their feet and lower legs as well as signals from muscles and movement in the body. The vestibular system, which includes balance sensors in the form of tiny fluid-filled tubes in our ears, controls balance and the relationship of our body in space. The fluid moves in response to acceleration and gravity. Vision is also an important process for motion- as we are walking or running, the world travels past our retinas at a steady state.
However, when you’re traveling by car, none of the usual signals of movement are present. Muscles are still, you’re sitting down, and the enclosed space limits your view. This results in sensory information that says “we are stationary”. But the fluid in your ears is travelling at high speeds and sloshes around more than usual telling the brain “we are really moving”.
For example, if you’re in the cabin of a moving ship, your inner ear may sense the motion of the waves, but your eyes don’t see the movement. The conflict between the senses causes motion sickness.
From an evolutionary point, sensory mismatch must be caused by a neurotoxin or poison. What’s the first thing the body/brain does when it thinks it’s being poisoned? Get rid of the poison, aka throw up.
This isn’t the only theory on how or why motion sickness occurs. But it makes sense to me because I know what motions exacerbate the feeling for me.
So how do you avoid feeling motion sick? One suggestion is to move your head as little as possible and avoid alcohol or heavy meals before travel. I like to make sure I’m getting fresh air and focus on my breathing (most helpful during flights). I rarely take medication for motion sickness but I have tried acupressure wristbands. It could have been a placebo but it worked for 10 days’ worth of driving on the roads of Ireland.
Anyone else have tips or tricks to relieve or prevent motion sickness?
| 
Re: Motion Sick - A Mystery Solved
