Seasickness and its impact on freediving. How to prevent?
Seasickness is one of the common reasons why a begginer diver may give up freediving. Fear of unpleasant sensations may even increase with the thought of immersion in water.
The peculiarity of seasickness is that it manifests itself only in water. So, if a person spends all his time on land, then he may never know that he is susceptible to this disease. The causes of seasickness are still not fully understood. The most common theory is that it arises from the fact that the vestibular apparatus and sensory organs send conflicting signals to the brain.
It is believed that all people are susceptible to seasickness, just to varying degrees. Someone will feel bad only on the deck of a ship in a very rough sea, and someone will get sick even on a bus. It is also believed that it is impossible to recover completely from seasickness. But this doesn’t mean that if you are susceptible to seasickness, you can never enjoy freediving. It just takes some action.
By the way, there are cases when seasickness disappears on its own, after several days – the body gets used to non-standard conditions. But this, unfortunately, is rare. And if this did not happen to you, then we advise you to use the following tips:
- It often happens that a disease is caused by a fear of illness. No need to constantly think about seasickness. Also, we strongly advise you not to communicate with other people who describe their symptoms. Try to improve your mood in any way.
- Do something. This is a great way to occupy the brain and distract from the disease. You can try to perform some simple exercises.
- Keep track of your breath.
- A lot depends on what you ate the day before. It is not recommended to eat heavy and fatty foods, dairy products, as well as drink alcohol. Interestingly, some people recommend drinking Coca-Cola, claiming it helps. Others say the opposite. Apparently, everything is individual here. But pure water must be drunk in small sips. Ginger is also recommended as a remedy for seasickness, be it ginger tea or ginger cookies.
- Avoid strong smells, even if you like them in everyday life. But a slight smell of mint can even help.
- You can find various medicines for seasickness in drug stores. But keep in mind that some of them can cause drowsiness!
- Avoid books and computer/smartphone screens. It’s best to look around more.
- Sometimes fatigue can lead to seasickness. Try to have a good rest.
- Use acupuncture. However, this tool is not suitable for everyone.
Also, each person whose activity is connected with the sea sooner or later has his own methods of combating seasickness.
By Yuriy - Apnea Pirate