- For some people, reading in the car is a great way to pass the time.
- For others, it's a one-way ticket to motion sickness.
- It happens when your eyes focus on a stationary object but your inner ear experiences movement.
As anyone who struggles with motion sickness can tell you, killing time during a road trip can be a complicated endeavor, especially when you can't lose yourself in a good book for fear of getting sick.
To find out why reading while in a moving vehicle suddenly makes some people nauseous, Insider spoke with neuropsychiatrist Dr. Ooha Susmita.
Reading in the car causes a 'sensory mismatch'
The sickness is caused by a disconnect between the systems responsible for someone's balance and spatial orientation or, as Susmita explained, "a conflict between the information received by their eyes and the sensations felt by their inner ears."
Your brain thinks you're moving in the car because it is perceiving motion through your inner ear, while your eyes are focusing on a stationary object, Susmita said.
"This creates a sensory mismatch, as your eyes are sending signals that you are not moving, in contradiction to your inner ears, which detect motion and changes in direction," she said. "This sensory conflict, leading to a disruption in the body's normal sense of balance, can result in symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, sweating, and sometimes, vomiting."
Reading, specifically, "requires focused attention and fine visual tracking" which makes the sensory mismatch even worse, she said. Your peripheral vision also plays a part, as it is not perceiving motion either, even though your inner ear is feeling the motion of the car.
It's important to note, however, that not everyone experiences this sensation, and sensitivities to these issues vary from person to person.
But there's bad news for book lovers who do get carsick: Susmita recommends that anyone who feels motion sickness should limit or altogether avoid reading while in the car.