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Travel Sickness
Deep slow breathing: a
cure for travel sickness
It is no
coincidence that opening the window of a car when someone is feeling
travel sick generally seems to alleviate their condition. Researchers at
the Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, in the
USA investigated the causes and effects of motion sickness and found that
slow, deep breathing does indeed help reduce travel sickness.
is known to increase the activity of the
parasympathetic nervous system and very often people suffering from car
sickness feel better when the window is opened and they are able to
breathe fresh air. it was considered this may prevent abnormal rhythm in
the stomach and hence prevent symptoms of motion sickness.
xxxxx
Forty six healthy men and women were each, in
turn, put in a rotating optokinetic drum and all were found to be
susceptible to motion sickness. They were then asked to count a slow deep
breathing exercise during a sixteen minute period before going back in the
drum. This time, however, the symptoms of motion sickness was
significantly reduced.
The researchers concluded that, in those
situations known to provoke stomach and motion sickness such as air, car
and boat travel, slow, deep breathing exercises significantly decrease the
onset of the stomach and motion symptoms, especially if the exercises are
carried out before the situation likely to promote the motion sickness.
Source : Aviat Space
Environ Med
1999 Dec;70(12):1189-92
Slow deep breathing
prevents the development of tachygastria and symptoms of motion sickness.
Jokerst MD, Gatto M, Fazio R, Stern RM, Koch KL
©
The Internet Health Library 2000
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This page was last updated on 05 December 2006 17:08:06
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