GREENSBORO, N.C. — When we think of motion sickness, we tend to think of roller coasters or boats, but not necessarily car rides. Car sickness comes from a mismatch of sensory information that your eyes and inner ears send to your brain. Your inner ears play a significant role in balance and spatial orientation. For example, if you're reading in a car, your eyes signal to your brain that you're still, but your inner ear senses that the vehicle is moving. This conflict of information leads to nausea and dizziness.
People in the back seat or third row tend to get car sick because they have less visual awareness of the motion and can control it less than if they're driving or in the front seat.
A great way to manage car sickness is to look at the horizon because your eyes see what your inner ears perceive: movement. There isn't a mismatch in sensory information sent to your brain, so you don't feel sick. This doesn't work for all people. Other things to try: rolling down the window to get good ventilation in the car, don't read or look at phone screens or iPads. And over-the-counter medications can help also.
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