Expert shares reason reading in the car makes you sick – it's down to 'basic instincts'

By Zahna Eklund, Social News Reporter

For many, reading in a car makes you feel sick (stock photo) (Image: Getty)

Many people experience motion sickness when trying to read in a car.

Long road trips can be tedious, and passengers often rely on books to pass the time. However, for some, reading in a moving vehicle can trigger nausea.

According to a TikTok user, approximately 30% of people are affected by this issue. The reason behind it is rooted in sensory conflict, where the brain receives conflicting signals from different senses.

When in a moving car, the body signals motion, but when focusing on a book, the eyes indicate stillness, causing confusion in the brain.

In her viral video, Felicia explained: "30% of the population cannot read while they're riding in a moving car, and the reason why is hilarious. There's this thing called sensory conflict. It's when one of your senses is telling your brain one thing while another sense is telling it something else.

"When you're in a moving car, your body is telling your brain that you're in motion, but when you try to look at the book, your eyes are telling your brain that you're standing still, so our brains are really confused. How can we be moving and staying still at the same time?"

The woman elaborated that the brain's confusion during motion sickness is akin to a "psychedelic trip" caused by ingesting something harmful, leading to nausea.

She added: "Our ancestors never had to deal with things like cars, but what they did have was mushrooms. So our brains assume that the reason we're having sensory conflict is because we ate something crazy out in the wilderness.

"And the reason you get nauseous is because your brain thinks you need to barf up whatever it is you might have accidentally eaten."

This theory received support from BBC's Science Focus magazine, where Luis Villazon, a science and technology educator, stated that motion sickness arises when there's a discrepancy between the inner ear and eyes regarding movement.

He noted: "This sensory conflict triggers nausea, possibly because the brain thinks you've eaten something toxic that's making you hallucinate. About a third of us are more prone to motion sickness, with children aged 2-12, the elderly, migraine sufferers and pregnant women among the high-risk groups."

Commenters on Felicia's video noted that they can often read perfectly fine in other moving vehicles like trains and planes but struggle in cars.

This could be due to the fact that cars frequently start and stop more often and have to make more noticeable turns, whereas planes and trains tend to have longer continuous movement.

One individual commented: "I can't even look away from the road without getting nauseous. I can't even ride in the back seat because I don't have a good enough view of the outside, so I get sick."

Another added: "I have this problem!"