Motion sickness and the VR “hangover”​: What you need to know.

Motion sickness and the VR “hangover”​: What you need to know.
by Zen @ ThisIsMeInVR.com

If you’ve tried out a Virtual Reality game or an amateur 360 video (not filmed on tripod) and experienced some discomfort during or afterwards, you felt motion sickness. The cause: Mixed sensory signals the brain misinterpreted as you being poisoned. The effects can be short or very long lasting. Hangover’s from technological immersion are now a real situation. Let me explain.

You see, your Brain determines your spacial position and movement by using visual signals from your eyes (constant subconscious processing of motion cues and horizon placement) and motion signals from liquids within your ear. Thus if you are in a virtual game and you move very quickly, (a sharp turn in a car), your eyes see the motion but your inner ear liquids don’t move accordingly. Your brain senses that your sensory information contradicts and assumes you must have eaten some poison berries. Oh no! In an effort to save you, your brain causes your body to feel nauseated in the hopes that you expel the poison it assumes you ingested. This is known as Motion Sickness.

We’ve known about and been dealing with Motion sickness since we first invented boats. — We’ve learned that in time your body can and will adapt to the constant mixed messages, and in time your body will no longer adversely react to these types of sensory conflicts. So in time your body should adapt around this issue. It wont happen at the same rate for everyone, (and for some it may never occur at all)

It is generally believe that people have dominant senses. Auditory, Kinestetic, Visual etc… It’s quite possible that VR motion sickness affects some people in drastically different ways. Some people report discomfort in EVERY VR experience, others report no issues at all. (children seem to feel the least of the effects) What triggers the ab-reaction? Well not all VR games and 360 video experiences are created equal. Some motions and situations are worse than others.

VR Games and experiences with little to no motion should not make you ill. Games where you are essentially static in a VR world. Werewolves Within on PlayStation VR for example is a game played from a sitting position. The world matches your expectations of a real world.Things are stable. Things are good. 4+ hrs can be enjoyed with little to know effect. Similarly SportsBarVR allows standing and “teleporting” around in a simulated ROOM. (Movement in VR is tricky. Currently, the simplest navigation technique seems to be the “teleport”. as long as the arrival contains a slight fade, the transitions are tolerable. )

Travel in VR within a Vehicle is much more complex. If the interior of the vehicle is displayed your can brain accept the HUD as a reference point (though also having a stable horizon is much better) and can mitigate the discomfort. If you feel motion sick in these experiences, frequently look at the dashboard (the static portions) to alleviate it.

What appears to cause the worst nausea comes from when perceiving g forces that should be applied sideways. Strafing, sharp fast turns and spinning out. Race tracks with banked corners drastically reduce the unpleasant effects of motion sickness in VR. As they convert horizontal G forces to Vertical ones. If more racing games had banked corners and wipe-outs didn’t “spin u out” it would be better for your brain. (Flight games, all need HUD overlays and extra attention on creating Horizon Cues, Ar least until they hack inner ear liquid caused issues. It’s believe that low voltage applied to just below the ear can inhibit motion sickness caused nausea)

A secondary after effect of VR, is blurred or distorted vision. Prolonged use of VR teaches the brain that eye focus for distance no longer applies. (in the real world , your eyes constantly refocus for distant objects. (in VR every item is centimeters from your face) In time your brain adjusts, and upon exiting VR you may notice slight changes in your vision. Your reaction time to focus on distant or incoming objects. As technology advances, these types of VR and AR devices will have effects..
What does this mean for the near future? Issues. Lots of issues.
CAUTION: DO NOT PLAY VR WITH EXCESSIVE MOTION THEN TRY TO OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY. (especially motorcycles!) Your balance and spacial distancing system may have been disrupted and accidents may occur.

How long until people call in sick from work because they stayed up late the night before playing too many Fast paced VR games and feel too uncomfortable to drive or work the next day. (in some VR motion sickness “Hangover” can last for DAYS especially if you happen to fall asleep in VR!)

I suggest if you suffer from VR induced motion sickness, there are some current Remedy options. avoid motion games or take Gravol, Ginger, alcohol, marijuana or (even consider low voltage stimulation to your inner ear?). Much research still needs to occur before we fully appreciate the risks and effects that VR may have on people (such as epigenetic influences) and how we can safely integrate this awesome technology into our lives. For some its a great Boon such as those living in Cold climates. Unfortunately, for now it’s simply one big experiment, being conducted on the population with a product that is being field tested by the early adopters.

read more at https://medium.com/@ThisIsMeIn360VR/