Motion sickness is a condition that makes it difficult to function normally during travel. Scientists are still investigating the mechanisms behind it.
Neurologist Dean Burnett of Cardiff University suggests that it may result from our brain misinterpreting signals and suspecting that we are poisoned.
What is motion sickness?
Motion sickness, also known as kinetosis, is a series of symptoms that can occur while travelling by car, boat, plane, or other means of transport. The most common are nausea and dizziness.
Try comparing the unpleasant symptoms you experience when you travel, but also when you eat something stale or hard to digest. The effect is the same - you feel nauseous and sick, and your body tries to eliminate what has poisoned it.
Burnett believes that our brain is unable to comprehend that we travel a long distance, our eyes register the kilometres travelled, and yet our muscles do not do any work at all. That is why our head believes that these "hallucinations" are the result of the body being poisoned by a poison or toxins that affect our nervous system.
Although neurologists have not yet been able to determine why not everyone suffers from motion sickness, they can provide some advice that can alleviate the unpleasant symptoms. First of all, you should not look around or look back. The patient should look straight ahead.
During the journey, you should also not read or use laptops or mobile phones, which means that you should generally focus your eyes on something that is stationary. Eating heavy, protein-rich meals is also not recommended. However, if you want to be sure that motion sickness will not get you, get behind the wheel yourself. It always works!
This article was originally published by Onet.