Here’s How You Can Prevent Motion Sickness

If just thinking about a long car ride makes you feel a little queasy, you know that motion sickness is no joke; unpredictable and swift, it's the specter that looms over your travel plans. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy strategies for combating most forms of motion sickness.

In the short video above, Business Insider provides a quick overview of the scientific causes of motion sickness. The video explains that, according to motion sickness expert Dr. Robert Stern, motion sickness is caused by “sensory mismatch.” That is, when our vestibular system (which controls your spatial awareness) and vision system send mixed signals to the brain. As backseat passengers in a car, for instance, we feel the car swerving and accelerating, but all we see is the seemingly motionless seat in front of us. Our discomfort is caused not by the motion itself, but by the discord between the movement we feel and immobility of our view.

While Business Insider provides several tips for those who get carsick, their main recommendation is to look out the front window and keep your eyes on the road. Watching the road pass by in front of you will help sync up your visual and vestibular systems, reducing nausea. Of course, that recommendation works great if you’re in a car, boat, or airplane with windows. But if you’re experiencing motion sickness on a submarine, it unfortunately won't do you any good.