Many people suffer from discomforts like nausea, dizziness, and painful headaches during travelling that can become worse if taken lightly
New Delhi: Even though it is a common condition, motion sickness can give you a real hard time. Many people suffer from discomforts like nausea, dizziness, and painful headaches during travelling that can worsen if taken lightly.
What is motion sickness?
According to Cleveland Clinic, motion sickness occurs when your brain cannot make sense of information sent from your eyes, ears, and body. Lots of movement in a car, airplane, boat, or even an amusement park ride — can make you feel queasy, clammy, or sick to your stomach.
Some people even vomit.
The following factors can increase the chances of getting motion sickness:
- Family history
- Hormonal birth control
- Ear disorders and ailments
- Menstrual periods
- Parkinson’s disease
- Severe headaches and migraines
- Pregnancy
What causes motion sickness?
According to health experts, motion sickness happens when the brain receives mixed signals from the motion-sensing parts of the body as the eyes, ears, muscles, and joints get mixed signals and thus the brain gets conflicting information and does not know whether you are stationary or moving.
Many actions can trigger motion sickness, such as:
- Amusement park rides
- Reading while in motion
- Riding in a boat, car, bus, train, or plane
- Video games and movies
How to prevent motion sickness?
Even though it is not possible to entirely cure it or treat it completely, the severity of motion sickness can be lowered with the following tips:
- Keep the window open: Many times, fresh air helps lower motion sickness. It is best to lower the windows and let fresh air come in to ventilate the car. Many times, during long journeys we eat while driving the odour gets trapped inside making you feel worse. Experts also recommend using a soothing odour like lavender or mint that helps you cope.
- Avoid eating heavy food: Before taking a long journey, avoid eating spicy or fried food that can trigger motion sickness.
- Carry ginger: Ginger is said to be one of the ways you can lower nausea and hence, it is best to carry grated ginger or its tablets.
- Sit on the front seat: If possible either sit in front of the vehicle or drive yourself during the journey. If you focus on a fixed point in a distance, you can resolve the mismatch between your balance system detecting motion and your being still. The front seat will give you more window space to look through and the ride is less bumpy in the front.
- Take short breaks: Take short beaks as many times as possible. It is more important if the journey is long and mountainous involving too many twists and turns.
Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.
