(CNN) 鈥� Travel sickness isn鈥檛 just hearsay. Nearly聽聽experience motion sickness 鈥� and to this day we don鈥檛 exactly know what causes it. The prevailing theory suggests it is triggered by a聽.
Departure to and return from summer vacations seem moments especially prone to the stealthy advances of this sickness. We (or at least those of us inclined to travel sickness) are more often ill during these particular journeys than during our normal comings and goings.
Let鈥檚 note too that lots of travelers feel a sense of fatigue, drowsiness, apathy or lack of energy without having done any particularly exhausting activity. These are in fact symptoms of聽, which show that many more people are affected by the condition than you鈥檇 think.
Why this apparent heightened susceptibility during vacation trips? There are many reasons. Compared to normal travel, these journeys feature certain conditions, all with the potential to increase the incidence and severity of symptoms. Here are some pieces of explanation, and advice to minimize the risk.
Long journeys 鈥� repetition of movements that make you queasy
In a car, the further one travels, the more likely one is to feel ill, as shown by a number of聽.
It鈥檚 the adding up of unpleasant movements which takes us over the threshold where we feel symptoms. For certain people, this聽; for others it develops more slowly. Only on long journeys, after several hours on the road, in the air or on a boat, will this latter group be pushed over their limit and start feeling unwell.
Activities undertaken to pass the time during a long journey could add to feelings of queasiness. Often people do something to occupy and entertain themselves: read a book, watch a film, play a video game or scroll through social media. Except, these visually stimulating activities absorb our attention to the point that we鈥檙e not tuned in to the visual cues that allow our brain to assess the movement of the vehicle. This creates a confusion in the perception of movement. As a result, it becomes聽.
Journey conditions: risks adding up
In summer, the temperature inside a vehicle is difficult to control, with the sun often imposing a stifling heat; conditions which聽.
When it鈥檚 hot,听, through sweat or breathing for example. These various signals amount to 鈥減rimary symptoms鈥� as they can contribute to the appearance of other more substantive symptoms: dilation of the blood vessels, sickness, nausea or vomiting, as applicable.
To counter these effects, one is tempted to switch the air conditioning on, which could itself, perversely,听. Ventilation and cabin air systems also push people toward their nausea thresholds.
Unpleasant smells are another factor that can聽: traffic fumes, cigarette smoke, fetid air or even聽聽were identified as the聽! These are bigger risk factors at the start of the summer travel season, when聽聽and the sun鈥檚 rays heat up materials. It鈥檚 also known that there is a region of the brain 鈥� the area postrema or chemoreceptor trigger zone 鈥� which can trigger over-production of saliva and nausea specifically when certain smells are detected 鈥� a protective reflex against toxins and other poisonous substances.
Traffic: a physical and mental imposition
In a car, it isn鈥檛 speed that makes one ill but聽, especially abrupt ones. Acceleration and braking movements aggravate the human body, even more than turning corners.
In practice, variations in speed are often forced on the driver by road design (speed limits, crossings, traffic lights), but also by the state of the traffic. A car stuck in jams will be forced to speed up and slow down at random intervals,听.
Traffic jams also have a psychological element. Delays to a journey (which might already have been very long), anxiousness about arriving at the arranged time, which is looking less and less likely, tiredness, stress and irritation can all cause the passengers鈥� mood to crash. It鈥檚 been observed that these factors聽. It would be better to take these setbacks calmly and stay in a relaxed frame of mind but that鈥檚 of course easier said than done.
Some tips to limit the damage
If you鈥檙e driving with passengers with a tendency to be car sick, or you鈥檙e susceptible yourself, some adjustments to your travel habits might help you.
For the driver:
鈥� Take regular breaks. This allows passengers to take a breather, and to reduce to a significant extent or even get over their symptoms. Sometimes symptoms can take a while to disappear but聽.
鈥� Try to cut down the amount of hard acceleration and braking you do. Keep as far as possible to the same speed and adopt a smooth driving style, including when you overtake or brake.
鈥� Avoid taking corners too sharply on winding roads.聽Passengers should be聽.
For passengers
鈥� . Any movement while travelling is better absorbed by the body from this position.聽, since one has control over the vehicle鈥檚 movement.
鈥� Avoid looking at screens and other visual content (books, etc.), particularly when the vehicle isn鈥檛 moving at a constant speed. Instead,听, towards the horizon.
鈥� 听辞谤听. Slowing down activity soothes the body.
鈥� . This allows you to be less destabilized by the vehicle鈥檚 movements
鈥� Go for car games聽with the other passengers if you get bored: play 鈥淚 Spy,鈥澛爂s, or count cars of a particular color or make 鈥� these are all old favorites of proven effectiveness to help pass the time and, above all,听. The emergence and disappearance of symptoms is mainly a psychological phenomenon.
Finally, given the role of the mind in car sickness symptoms, note that passengers experiencing queasiness can feel better with a placebo (something with no proven medicinal value but presented to them as a magic cure). Simple tips聽. For example,听,听聽while talking up their effectiveness will give your fellow travellers a little boost.
We wish you happy travels, hoping your journey conditions are as good as they can be.
William Emond is a PhD student in carsickness mitigation at the University of Technology of Belfort-Montb茅liard, France. Translation from French to English by Joshua Neicho.
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