In virtual reality, there are those that experience VR motion sickness from locomotion movement and those who can jump in head first without any issue. Before you throw in the towel and ship or return your VR headset back, please know that we’re here to help you earn your VR legs and start playing the action-packed games you’ve always wanted to.
Here are 10 ways to prevent and stop motion sickness in VR.
1. Give It A Rest
If you feel dizzy, disoriented, weaker than usual, clammy, overheated, or nauseous please do yourself a favor and close your eyes. Then after that take the headset off and rest. There’s no shame in taking a break or giving it a go later on. It’s better to do this than spending time cleaning up a mess or giving up on VR altogether.
2. 
Keep Cool
Keep a fan pointed at you, window open, or put on the A/C if you have it. Having good air circulation and a cooler temperature really does help. This is probably one of the most important tips to keeping motion sickness at bay. Pro tip: Make sure you place your fan in front of you but don’t forget that it’s there. You don’t want to accidentally step on it or kick it while you are in VR.
3. Swimming Rules Apply
Honor the rule: Don’t eat and then play games in VR. If a snack or meal isn’t fully digested and you don’t feel well, you know what comes next. Wait for 30 minutes to an hour before you begin. Also, don’t drink alcohol or be hung over and then play VR. This won’t end well with motion sickness.
4. Give It Time
Start off slow and limit game time in VR to a few minutes and then build up from there. Most people see an improvement in a few games to a few weeks when they build up their tolerance with consistent play.
5. Sit First, Then Stand
Some users report that they feel better if they begin a game sitting and then move to standing. Grounding yourself by sitting can help your senses anchor themselves without having to worry about what your legs are doing. Then, when you’re comfortable take the next step and stand.
6. Start Off With Platform Games
If locomotion movement in VR is making you queasy, start off with games like Tilt Brush, Fruit Ninja, Sparc, and Box VR that don’t involve movement like turning, walking, racing, and jumping or flying. You’ll be standing or sitting in one area and using your own body movement. Users who play Skyrim VR credit using smooth motion and running in place along with the pace of their character to feel more grounded and have minimal to zero nausea in VR.
7. Play With Movement Options When Comfortable
Many games have adjustable comfort settings for locomotion that you can use like free or smooth movement, snap turning, teleport, and field of view blinders. Test and see which ones work best for you. Don’t try to do it all in one sitting, this might be overload for your senses.
8. Natural Remedies
Find ways to help your body fight nausea symptoms by drinking ginger or peppermint tea, taking ginger supplements, or chewing ginger gum/chews and then breathing deeply to allow their aroma to get air flowing. Ginger has been shown to be highly effective in alleviating nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and chemotherapy.
9. Anti-Nausea Tech
Wearables are an option that most people don’t realize is available. Try out the Relief Band, a watch that also doubles as a nausea fighter. Just add a little gel, clip in, and pick a nerve stimulating vibration that will give you some relief motion sickness.
10. Look At Your Set Up
Make sure your sensors for the Oculus and Vive, and the camera for PSVR are properly set up and positioned so that there’s not a lot of light reflecting towards them. This affects sensor tracking and will cause visual interruptions that will make users feel nauseous. Also, remember to check your interpupillary distance and see if there’s any lense blurring for text and images. Customizing this for your eyes will make a huge difference. People that wear glasses will want to check out VR Lens Lab.
Did these tips help you or someone you know to prevent or stop motion sickness? Do you have a special trick that helps you with nausea in VR?
If so, let us know about it down in the comments or share it with us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. We want to hear more about what helps our readers get the most out of VR.
