eli5 why do people get carsick/seasick?
In: 73
Because your equilibrium is a balance between what your eyes are seeing, what your inner ear is experiencing, and whether those things match your body is doing. If these things don’t match eachother, it confuses your brain.
If you are in a car, visually, you are moving fast, but your body is still, so it doesn’t match what your brain thinks your body is doing and the gravity being experienced by your inner ear. It is worse when you look down, for instance, because now your eyes are no longer helping your brain understand.
On boats you your inner ear experiences an up and down change in g-force, but your body is not going up and down, so your brain is again confused, since you aren’t jumping up or falling down.
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