There’s no doubt, we all enjoy carrying our books along with us wherever we go. Be it road trips, on a plane, trains, buses, you name it! There is one thing that seems to be inevitable, however: the sick feeling we get when we start reading in a moving vehicle! Damn, it definitely makes me cringe! Especially when you’re about to hit the good part in a book.
So, fret not, science has the perfect answer for us! We feel this nausea due to our brain receiving mixed messages. When we are in a moving car, our brain receives signals from our muscles saying we are not moving but the signals from our balance sensors say we are in motion. Hence, theses contradicting signals lead to what our brain interprets as poisoning.
Crazy, right?
Here are a few tips that can help you overcome motion sickness whilst reading:
1. Look at distant objects
This is the fastest proven effect. Fixating your glance on a stable object far in the horizon will help your brain balance out its signals and you will begin to feel much better.
Source: The Ardent Archivist
2. Hold your book up right
Holding your book upright by placing it in front of you is a good method as you can easily take a look out the window. Placing your book on your lap is fine as well, though it might cause slight dizziness after some time.
3. Sit in a good spot
Sitting in the backseat of a car is usually pretty unstable as you experience all the bumps and effects that make your whole body rock up and down. It’s better to sit in the passenger’s seat up front where there is less commotion. Or, if push comes to shove, try leaning your head against a headrest or pillow.
Source: Experience Onstar
Let us know, what are your ways of overcoming motion sickness? Could they be same as our three tips? Or would you prefer not to read at all in a car? Some people have have outgrown the felling of motion sickness because their brain has already been trained to recognize the involuntary mismatch of signals and is able to tackle it better. Unfortunately, for some of us, we might never outgrow it. Nevertheless, this is something you could talk about during your road trips and travels along with your favorite books!
YouTube Channel: TheDanocracy
Featured image via The Odyssey Online
h/t Bustle
