Anything to avoid some rumble in your stomach.
Getting sick on an airplane is high on the list of annoying things one can experience when traveling.
For those prone to motion sickness, especially due to turbulence, a flight attendant revealed where to sit — and where not to on a plane to avoid that dreaded, uncomfortable feeling.
Since turbulence is bound to happen on just about every flight — a British Airways flight attendant said to never book a seat at the back of the plane, if you’re sensitive to some rumble in the sky because that’s where passengers will feel it the most, according to the Daily Mail.
The best seat in the house for turbulence haters? The crew member said an aisle seat near the middle of the plane — specifically near the wings is where passengers are least likely to get sick.
This seat selection not only “prevents any heights-induced anxiety but also makes it a lot easier for you to move about the plane, easing the feelings of claustrophobia,” the stewardess told Ocean Florida.
There is a scientific reason why nausea can suddenly hit people while on a plane.
“The body recognizes itself within any environment. Its relationship with objects in terms of distance and direction is called spatial orientation, wrote professor Adam Taylor, director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at England’s Lancaster University in an article on The Conversation.
“When flying, this is typically moving forwards, ascending, some turns and a descent,” he continued.
“However, turbulence disrupts this relationship and confuses the sensory information being received by the brain – it makes the body want to respond or recalibrate.”
To get even more technical, Taylor explained that, “When the aircraft hits turbulence, the balance apparatus cannot distinguish the movement of the plane from that of the head, so the brain interprets the aircraft movement as that of the head or body.”
If a traveler has made a strategic seat selection on a plane and is still getting turbulence sweats, there are a few other precautions to take to feel better.
“Focusing on your breathing calms the nervous system,” the professor suggested.
As tempting as it may be to order a glass of wine to calm nerves, the expert warned against it.
“While you may feel it calms your nerves, if you hit turbulence it’s going to interfere with your visual and auditory processing and increase the likelihood of vomiting,” he wrote in the article.
