Every ship captain, article, and study on sea sickness has a different answer. Why does sea sickness go away after 12 hours in some cases and 72 hours in others?
Some people don’t experience it, and others never settle.
I have recently returned from an 18-day Cruise down the coast of Chile to Antarctica, across the infamous Drake Passage and back.
I am a motion sickness sufferer. I have coped with this my whole life and know how to handle it. Or so I thought.
The first two days after leaving Valparaiso were pure hell. I was horribly seasick despite my normal routine.
After 48 hours, I felt human again.
In 2022, my partner J and I cruised around Iceland on the same ship. I had no serious problems, even on high swell days.
Why was the Antarctica cruise different?
Sea sickness is just another version of motion sickness. Usually more extreme because a ship moves up and down, sways left and right, and tips forward and backward. In a car or train, there are fewer variables.
Why does sea sickness go away at different durations?
There are many factors involved:
- Is there a previous history of motion sickness?
- What is the weather like?
- Are the swells high?
- What is the size of the ship?
- Where is the passenger’s cabin located?
- Is the passenger aware of the different tactics to minimize sea sickness?
- Is medication being taken to prevent sea sickness?
As I always say, it is important to learn a bit about an illness in order to understand its management.
What triggers motion sickness?
We are not 100% sure, to be honest.
How do you maintain balance and know where you are in relation to your surroundings? How does your brain know which way is up and what is down? Which side is right or left?
It gets this information from the proprioceptive, vestibular, and visual systems.
Fancy words, let me explain them.
- Proprioception is information received by your brain from nerves in your feet. This helps it know where the ground is.
- Your vestibular system is in your inner ear and informs the brain of your head’s position.
- Your eyes aid your brain in making sense of these inputs it’s receiving.
The theory is that your brain either mixes up these three cues or the systems send conflicting information, resulting in motion sickness.
For example:
- You’re looking forward but traveling backward.
- Your feet are on the boat’s deck, and your brain thinks you’re on land, but the waves are moving you up and down.
- You are moving forward in the car, but your brain thinks you are stationary because you are looking at the phone.
Simple tactics to minimize motion sickness
These are tricks that I use if I feel motion sickness creeping up on me. Very often, a combination of these will halt the motion sickness.
- Stay at home
The easiest way to avoid motion sickness is to stay home and not go anywhere. Of course, I am just joking. If you’re reading this article, I assume you want to go places and see things. So keep reading.
- Sit in the front seat of the bus or car.
A view obstructed by seats will make motion sickness worse. The seat is still; your body is not. - Choose a seat facing the direction of travel.
This applies in the ship’s restaurant or lounge. If traveling by train, don’t face backward. Help your brain in any way you can. Please do not confuse it by sitting facing backward. Looking forward will lower the risk of motion sickness. - Look at the horizon
Fix your gaze on the horizon. This helps your brain understand that your body moves with the boat or car.
- Get some fresh air
Put on the air-con, get onto the deck, or open the window. Flowing or cold air helps reduce nausea and vertigo. - Lie down and keep still
This stops your head’s movement and eliminates one source of confusing information to your brain. - Block your senses
Close your eyes and put in earplugs. As mentioned, motion sickness may be worsened by the brain’s confusion by sensory stimuli. Take as much information away as possible.
Motion sickness and cruising
Choose a newer ship
As with anything in our ever-improving world, newer ships have innovative technology. This has fantastic benefits when it comes to reducing motion sickness.
The expedition ship, Hurtigruten MS Fridtjof Nansen that I recently traveled on to Antarctica uses two of these computer-controlled innovations:
Active fin stabilization
The ship has what looks like two big wings that extend out when in deep water at higher speeds.
Dynamic positioning systems (DPS)
According to Offshore Engineering, a DPS is able to control the position and heading of a vessel by using thrusters that are constantly active and automatically balance the environmental forces (wind, waves, current, etc.). Environmental forces tend to move the vessel off the desired position, while the automatically controlled thrust balances those forces and keeps the vessel in position.
Choose a bigger ship or boat.
As a rule, bigger is better regarding sea sickness.
Larger vessels tend to be more stable. This is logical.
- 8 m swells will impact a 10-story, 500-passenger ship less than a 4-person sailing boat.
- A 5000-passenger cruiseliner will be more stable than the one with 500 capacity as it is larger and heavier; it is less likely to be tossed around.
- Catamarans are wider and more stable than single-hull boats.
When I cruised to Antarctica, I chose a 500 capacity vessel over a 100-passenger ship for this reason.
Choose the correct cabin
You want to choose a cabin closest to the ship’s centers of gravity and buoyancy. The area that will have the least movement.
Book a cabin on the lowest deck and nearest the ship’s center.
Choose a destination with good weather and calm seas
Conde Nast Traveler covers this in these two articles: The World’s Roughest Cruise Itineraries and 6 Stress-Free Cruises for First Timers.
Medication to prevent motion sickness
I discuss this topic in depth in another post, How To Cure Motion Sickness Permanently.
Now you have all the tools. Hopefully, you will not be seasick at all.
