Are you going somewhere great this summer (go you!) or have a long dang commute year-round, and want to read during your travels? Good choice. I’ve got some tips and tricks for you to calm that motion sickness and get through as much of your book as you can, instead of playing another several mindless rounds of Candy Crush (I’m also very guilty of that).
I first learned to read in the car because my parents are big fans of car trips. Eight hours was a short trip, and the longest was the two days we spent heading up from New York to Nova Scotia, Canada, where they dragged me to Anne of Green Gables land and a cold beach I couldn’t swim in. (Love the book, hate the cold weather.) Clearly, I don’t have great memories of when we got there, but I did get a lot of reading done in between.
First, accept that this is a marathon and not a sprint. It is going to take time for you to adjust, and your motion sickness might not ever go away. Mine certainly hasn’t magically disappeared, but I can manage it. Take a book with you, whatever it may be, and put your head down and read. Maybe block out the other passengers in the car with some headphones full of white noise if you need it. Now, when you start feeling sick, pick your head up and look out the window. Focus on whatever scenery is passing by and acclimate yourself to the movement of your body moving forward. Then, grab some water or crackers, which you definitely packed beforehand, and munch on that until the feeling subsides. If your stomach doesn’t settle, the power move here is to curl up in whatever position is least uncomfortable for you, and let the gentle rocking of the car lull you to sleep. When you wake up, the nausea will hopefully be less. Then, when you can manage it, start reading again and cycle through the process like that. Over time, my motion sickness became much less severe, so hopefully this works for you, too!
Let me know if you have any other tips and tricks that I don’t know about. I’d love to know what you guys use!
This post was originally published on GetLiterary.com.