How To Have A Grand Time In The Skies
Even in the olden times, the problem of motion sickness had been
prevalent. In fact, it was even referred to as "camel sickness"
in the Bible, where the camel riders experience nausea due to
moderate swaying.
With the advent of technology, motion sickness has evolved into
many forms such as seasickness, carsickness, space motion
sickness, and airsickness; and the reason why more and more
people are now traveling by air is because of its capacity to
transport people faster.
Generally, airsickness refers to that feeling of nausea which
was triggered by the motion usually experienced when the
aircraft escalates to higher altitudes. Some of the common signs
of airsickness are loss of appetite, vertigo, burping, stomach
awareness, nausea, and increased swallowing and salivation.
Contrary to most popular beliefs, airsickness is not a disorder.
It is just a normal response of the body to an unusual stimulus.
Simply put: airsickness is due to the disparity between what
people see with their eyes and the data that they get from the
"vestibular organs" of the ears. So, it is a matter of the
discrepancies between what people see and what they feel. Thus,
the end result is a confusion of the brain's regular processing
of sensory awareness.
For pilots, airsickness is their number one concern. Surveys
show that 29% of aircraft pilots experience airsickness. This,
in turn, disables them to perform their functions well. That is
why people have come up with ways how to avoid airsickness.
Here's how:
1. Stress and other forms of anxiety should be stripped out.
Studies show that two of the common causes of airsickness are
stress and anxieties. It increases the probability of
experiencing airsickness. This is because the body will have
more difficulty in coping up with the sudden change of
environment. Emotional factors trigger the brain to get more
confused.
2. Before traveling, it would be better for a person to eat
light meals only. Large meals, especially those that have high
salt content are possible causes of airsickness.
3. While on board, it is best for a person to stay put and avoid
too much moving within the aircraft. Motion is the number one
factor why airsickness occurs.
4. People should accept the condition and try to get accustomed
on the situation. This will happen after a few hours of being in
the air.
Indeed, airsickness is not a big problem. It is just a matter of
adjusting the body's condition so as to avoid conflict of
senses.