Too much screen time can cause digital dizzines, motion sickness, experts say

The world already knows about car sickness, motion sickness and sea sickness. In fact, you might even have experienced one of these before. Now, a new related sickness is becoming a big issue as technology continues to develop from time to time. This sickness is the visually-induced motion sickness, commonly known as cyber sickness.

The National Science Foundation states that Frederick Bonsato, an experimental psychologist of Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, N.J., who took part in studying this sickness, said that it is a certain form of motion sickness that people usually feel in virtual reality environments.

While it is true that 3-D movies, 3-D television shows, 3-D video games and the likes are among the biggest factors why digital motion sickness is now being felt by many people, they can also get this sickness just by merely rapidly scrolling their smartphone.

According to Steven Rauch, professor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School and medical director of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Balance and Vestibular Center, the cyber sickness is a result of a basic mismatch between a person's sensory inputs.

The feeling that a person gets from this sickness is comparable to what he feels when he experiences sea sickness. He feels dizzy and nauseated. There are even times when he will feel like throwing up.

According to New York Times, while the feeling you get from cyber sickness and sea sickness is the same, the causes of these are different from one another.

In sea sickness, as well as car sickness and other traditional motion sickness, a person feels sick because he feels the movement in his joints, muscles and his inner ear's intricate coil, but doesn't see the movement. He just needs to look up at the horizon to feel much better.

On the other hand, in the visually induced motion sickness, a person feels sick because he sees the movement, but his body doesn't feel it. To feel better, you can either close your eyes or look away from the screen of your TV, computer or smartphone for a while, the Motion Sickness Guru says.

According to previous studies, women are much more prone to feel cyber sickness than men. It is also pointed out that those people who have experienced concussions or migraines in the past are also susceptible to this sickness. Surprisingly, it is also said that those who have the "Type A" personality are also vulnerable to this. According to theories, it might possibly be due to the fact that people with this type of personality are more alert and reactive when it comes to sensory inputs.

For more additional information regarding cyber sickness, check the video below.