I get lightheaded and get a headache when reading books or watching movies in the car, but not in a plane. Explain like I’m five please.
In: Biology
How do you know that you are moving? Usually, it is with your eyes. But there is also a system in your ears which helps you feel the balance.
When this balance system in your ears is disturbed, you lose balance. One example is, when your head is hit hard, not only does the supply of blood to your brain momentarily blocked, but the balance system in your ear is stunned, and you lose your balance or just faint. In fact, even when your brain has come back on, you may have wobbly legs, and that’s because of the ear’s balance system still recovering.
In a car, the peripheral vision tells your brain that there is movement due to the trees and buildings racing past. But your ears are not registering much movement because the head is still. The resulting confusion to your brain is what comes out as eyeaches and nausea.
On an airplane, the scenery does not move fast outside the window, so your eyes and ears do not provide contradictory information. So the brain does not get confused.
If the car were to move very very slowly and smoothly, you won’t have the trouble. And also, if you watch a video with lot of movement, while you are sitting, so your ear provides contradictory information to your eyes, you get dizzy. If you were running, and the head was moving hard, your eyes and ears provide similar info and you don’t feel dizzy.
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