How to prevent motion sickness.

Motion sickness is the nausea, disorientation and tiredness that can be induced by head motion and other types of motion where the brain is unsure of its position.

Motion sickness is not uncommon and can be triggered in almost anyone, if the right things are done. Although this is not always the case, for people with no vestibular system, motion sickness cannot be triggered.

Causes of Motion Sickness

The cause of motion sickness, is normally formed from your brain getting mixed messages of where you are. Your brain uses visual information; sound information; touch information, to monitor where it is at all times of the day. So if you have one or more of these information pathways in disagreement with each other, motion sickness can be brought about.

For example: When feeling motion, but not seeing it ( reading a book for example), your inner ear tells your brain that you're moving. Your eyes however will be telling your brain that you are still, as it is focused on the stationary page.

These mixed messages will prompt the brain to presume that one of them is wrong, and further more will lead it to believe that it is from poison ingestion, creating vomiting to flush out the presumed toxins.

People who are vulnerable to migraines, are more at risk to motion sickness. Females and children are also more likely to get it than men, but of course both genders, young and old can get it.

Motion sickness can be divided into smaller sub-categories:

• Motion sickness caused from felt, but not seen motion.
• Motion sickness caused from seen, but not felt motion.
• Motion sickness caused from motion that is detected, but not properly understood.

 How to reduce/prevent travel sickness?

1. Sit in the front seat of the car.
2. When on board a ship, stay towards the middle, looking towards the horizon mostly.
3. Don't read while inside transportation.
4. Rest your head against something, to keep it still.
5. Don't smoke.
6. Keep hydrated, water preferably. 
7. Don't eat big greasy, spicy or fatty meals the day before air travel.
8. Try to eat healthy, more fruit and vegetables.
9. Sit towards the side or front of the plane, when aboard one.
10. In a car, turn the air ventilation towards your face. (With air coming out of it. He he.)
11. Take deep, slow breaths. In a test of doing this, it reduced motion sickness quite considerably.
12. A study showed that people who have more active occupations are less likely to get motion sickness, or there active job has helped in reducing motion sickness.

If none of these tips are working, and you are prone to motion sickness, I would suggest that you see your local doctor.