Top 10 Things that Cause Motion Sickness
Motion sickness is a condition where there's confusion between perceived motion & the body's sense of motion. The effects are usually nausea, dizziness, vomiting & headaches. Many triggers are from vehicles & amusement/theme park rides as well as things as simple as watching movies, videos or playing games.Ever wanted to go to space? Well, that might do a number on you. Space travel requires traveling by rocket based on our current technology. Rocket ships go really fast and pull gravitational (G) forces on riders when accelerating (averaging 3g or three times what we feel standing on Earth), making them feel heavier and messing with the vestibular system and stomach, leading to aggravated motion sickness.
The change in angles that rockets make also triggers motion sickness. Plus, the deceleration of reentry is yet another major motion sickness trigger. Space travel has been known for ages to be notorious for motion sickness, prohibiting astronauts with health conditions from going to space. Space travel is NOT for the faint of inner ears or stomach.
Air travel has been known to trigger motion sickness. Aircraft, such as airplanes, are notorious for causing air sickness. They move around, and to make matters worse, they can hit rough air unexpectedly. Riders have no control over it, making it both a motion sickness and thrill factor.
Similar to a roller coaster, the motion includes sudden turns and drops, which is uncontrollable and problematic for those with pre-existing high blood pressure, heart issues, back or neck problems, as well as those who are pregnant.
Simulators are common in malls as well as fairs, carnivals, and amusement and theme parks, and they are among the top rides that trigger motion sickness. The brain confuses the motion on the screen with reality, and the motion of the seats also adds to the effect. The Simpsons Ride at Universal is a huge example of such simulators that trigger motion sickness.
Flight of Passage at Walt Disney World has been known to be highly realistic and a severe example of simulators that trigger motion sickness, leaving many people sick. Don't EVER forget about Mission: SPACE at Epcot, which is so realistic at simulating space travel that it sent 194 people to the paramedics over a one-year span from June 2005 to June 2006, a record unmatched by any other ride at any amusement or theme park.
Amusement and theme park rides are known for their crazy theming elements, high-speed motion, dramatic angles, heights, climbs, and drops. Roller coasters are the staple of amusement and theme parks, providing thrills by giving riders a false but realistic sense of danger and lack of control. However, they are also major triggers for motion sickness with their sharp turns, upside-down maneuvers, sudden drops, and stops.
Some rides have sudden acceleration with their launches, which usually pack quite a punch. Drop towers offer an alternative for thrills with their climbs and major drops. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios (and formerly Disney California Adventure Park) is the most famous example of a drop tower for its highly immersive theming.
Don't forget about fair and carnival rides, especially those that spin you around and stick you to the wall or the Zipper. Simulators are especially notorious for motion sickness, as the brain and vestibular system confuse the motion on the screen with reality. Rides like Star Tours, Flight of Passage, and Mission: SPACE are among the top triggers of motion sickness in amusement and theme parks.
Boats float on water, and the waves lead to up-and-down as well as tilting motion, making them bad for people prone to motion sickness. For boat travel, this is called sea sickness. Small boats are the worst for motion sickness. Thankfully, many cruise ships have been designed to be stable even in fairly rough conditions, making the voyages smoother and suitable for a larger group of people unless they get capsized.
Cars are among the most popular forms of transportation and the top example of road transportation. You're moving, and there are turns and even hills that may trigger motion sickness, called car sickness. To make matters worse, try reading a book while sitting in the car. How about going down a sudden hill without seeing it coming? Pretty ironic, right?
Video games are really popular, and many players use them. As you might expect, some are prone to motion sickness, and the movements in them can trigger it. High FPS games are especially notorious for this, as are first-person games.
Main reason why I quit video games.
VR (virtual reality) is among the most popular things right now. The brain is definitely confused with it, and many players experience motion sickness and have a hard time playing the games as they're immersed in the scenery and motion involved.
IMAX involves making a screen that fills your field of vision for immersion (despite the fact that such screens only take up 180 degrees and our vision is past 210 degrees), making them a recipe for motion sickness. Many guests get motion sickness during and after watching movies on the big screen. They deserve warnings about motion sickness.
Many home videos are filmed handheld, and since the human body is unsteady, the footage becomes shaky. When viewed on a large screen, they may trigger motion sickness. Have you seen videos you made at home by yourself, with your family or friends, or those on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or TikTok? Well, those are examples of such videos, and vlogs, in particular, are notorious for motion sickness.
Have you seen vlogs from your favorite YouTubers that were filmed shakily and moved around? That's what makes vlogs notorious for motion sickness, and some people are prone to it. Some movies were even filmed that way. The best examples are The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, Cannibal Holocaust, Project Almanac, the Jason Bourne movies, Battle: Los Angeles, Saving Private Ryan, Earth to Echo, Man of Steel, The Hunger Games movies, Rogue One, and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Many such movies have made theater guests sick, causing them to leave the theaters or even vomit. Shaky camera work has been used in such movies to convey mood and story, though in videos, it's a common normal given.
Smartphones, or phones in general, involve a lot of scrolling, and videos are often very shaky, all resulting in triggered motion sickness.