Motion sickness can last for a few hours and even up to a week depending on the reaction of different people involved. While some people rarely experience motion sickness, others may continuously suffer symptoms of motion sickness for weeks. This variation is quite normal with different factors contributing to the disparities in duration, including body reactions, gender, health conditions, age, and other factors.
Humans have been coping with motion sickness since the invention of boats and VR motion sickness itself is as old as the invention of VR headsets. There is a likelihood that you may have experienced motion sickness if you’ve tried out a virtual reality game and felt uncomfortable during or after.
“Cybersickness” is also another name that you can call VR motion sickness. With symptoms similar to those of a hangover, the condition is not a pleasant one to encounter.
Experts have categorized motion sickness as a widespread problem that affects between 40 and 70 percent of new users within the first 15 minutes of their immersive encounter.
Why Do Some Individuals Experience VR Motion Sickness?
Because your brain receives conflicting messages from various sensory inputs, motion sickness might happen. You may get motion sickness while riding in the backseat of a car because your eyes end up registering movement but your body does not. Your brain interprets a desynchronized vestibular system or the system that regulates balance and eye movements, as confusion and motion sickness follow.
How Long Does Motion Sickness Last in VR?
Motion sickness in VR can have short-term (a few hours) or extremely long-term effects (up to a week after). Naturally, your body should adjust to this problem over time (a few weeks of daily use). However, you should see a doctor about your VR motion sickness if it doesn’t go away after a few hours or if you keep throwing up.
Studies have shown that your body can adjust to the ongoing contradictory signals, such that it no longer negatively responds to them.
Quite frankly, not everyone will experience it at the same rate, and some people may never experience it at all.
Different people experience VR motion sickness in peculiar ways. While some people complain of pain in EVERY virtual reality encounter, others say they have no problems at all. Also, VR games do not offer the same experience. There are more intense actions and circumstances in some VR games than in others.
Extra Tips for Overcoming Motion Sickness in VR
- Start by restricting your play sessions to just a few minutes at a time if a movie or game makes you sick. There is a strong probability that you will get over the pain in only a few days if you steadily increase the time you spend in VR surroundings.
- VR experts think low vibrations or voltage applied directly below the ear can reduce nausea brought on by motion sickness. Put that into consideration.
- Get a pair of Cybershoes, which, as the name suggests, allow you to walk in virtual reality games or simulate walking on a tour. They include a sturdy wheel on the underside that senses your movement, and you are supposed to wear them over your shoes. They have assisted some individuals in reducing VR motion sickness and taking advantage of improved VR experiences.