Top Tips On Preventing Motion Sickness

Most of us look forward to going on holiday every year, but for those who suffer from motion sickness, the thought of travelling to our chosen destination can be filled with dread and trepidation.

Holidaymakers who find boat and air travel the hardest to stomach, hiring a luxury minibus in Leeds could be the ideal option, enabling you to journey on steady ground and always being able to see the horizon.

Nevertheless, here are our tips on how to combat motion sickness, however you choose to travel for your next adventure.

• Look outside

Travel sickness occurs due to repetitive motion causing a disturbance in the inner ear. As a result, it can lead to nausea, vomiting, sweating, salivation, and dizziness.

While it is certainly unpleasant, one of the easiest ways to keep these feelings at bay is to simply look outside the window.

Firstly, make sure you are sitting in the direction of travel and not facing backwards. This helps you to keep your eye on the horizon and focus on a stationary object. As it will look as though that subject is not moving, it will help relieve some of the repetitive feeling you experience.

• Choose seat wisely

It is also a good idea to choose your seat wisely. In a car, this would be at the front where there is less movement. If you feel you are in control of the movement, for example, by being the driver, you are less likely to experience sickness.

Those in a plane will move less in the middle aisle, while passengers on a boat should head to the lower level cabins in the centre of the ship where turbulence is kept to a minimum.

Some people find it helpful to change position every so often, or try lying down or standing up, as different things work for different people. Opening the windows is a good idea if that is possible, otherwise try to turn the air vents towards your face or use a fan.

• Press pressure points

Something lots of sufferers of motion sickness swear by is acupressure by wearing devices that push on pressure points, such as bracelets with plastic bumps on them.

According to One Medical, this could just have a placebo effect, fooling your body into feeling less sick simply by believing they will work.

However, it stated: “It wearing pressure point devices … helps convince your brain you’re not going to get sick, it’s worth a shot.”

• Eat right

It is a good idea to steer clear of caffeine, alcohol and heavy meals before a long trip, as these can make you feel a lot worse whether travelling by road, air or sea. It is also thought that spicy or fatty foods can make travel sickness worse, as well as anything that has a strong odour, which is known to induce nausea.

Instead, you could try having ginger before the trip, as this is believed to relieve sickness.

Healthline also recommends drinking sips of cold water or a fizzy drink could help, as well as nibbling on light snacks such as crackers, cereal, bread, apples or bananas every so often.