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Reading important emails, scrolling social media or watching videos on a smartphone while traveling in a car, bus, cab or train proves to be a nightmare for many people. As soon as one looks at the screen, within a few minutes one suddenly starts feeling dizzy, restlessness, sweating and nausea. Sometimes the situation becomes so bad that vomiting starts immediately and the entire journey becomes uncomfortable. In common parlance it is called 'motion sickness' or 'car sickness'. Often, to avoid this, people stop using phones while traveling or resort to medicines. However, now modern smartphone technology has found a very scientific and accurate digital solution to this physical problem, which is called 'Motion Cues / Vehicle Motion Cues'.

Motion sickness is not a disease, but it is the result of sensory conflict that our brain receives. When you are sitting in a moving vehicle, the vestibular system of your inner ear and the muscles of the body sense that you are moving at a fast speed.

On the contrary, when your eyes are fixed on the static screen of the phone, the eyes send a message to the brain that you are sitting completely calm and still. The brain gets confused between the signals of 'motion' received from the ears and the signals of 'stasis' received from the eyes. The brain interprets this mismatch as a neurotoxin or toxic effect, resulting in symptoms of vomiting, nausea and headache.

To eliminate this neurological conflict, smartphone companies have developed the 'Motion Cues' feature. This feature uses the phone's in-built sensors (like accelerometer and gyroscope):

• Animated dots floating on the screen: As soon as this feature is turned on, light, transparent small animated dots (floating dots) start appearing at the edges of the screen.

• Synchronization with the movement of the vehicle: When the car turns right, these dots move to the left on the screen; When the car brakes, the dots move forward.

• End of mental confusion: Even while reading the main content of the phone, the peripheral vision of the eyes sees these moving dots. Due to this, both eyes and ears feel the same movement. The signal conflict received by the brain ends immediately and one never feels nauseous or dizzy even while reading on the screen.

Apple has included this feature directly in Settings in iOS (iOS 18 and above updates):

• First of all your iPhone Settings got into.

• scroll down accessibility Tap the (Accessibility) option.

• Under 'Vision' section Motion Select the (Motion) option.

• here you Vehicle Motion Cues Option will appear, click on it.

• This 'On' do it, or else 'Automatic' Choose. By choosing Automatic, this feature will automatically activate as soon as the phone's sensors detect that you are in a moving vehicle and will turn off as soon as the vehicle stops.

• If you want it in your Control Center You can also add it as a shortcut so that it can be activated with a single swipe as soon as you start the journey.

Google has also started making 'Motion Cues' feature available for Android users through updates. If it's not available directly in your Android phone's Settings, you can use it like this:

• Check from system settings: of your phone Settings go in, then accessibility going in Display & Motion Or search for 'Motion Cues' and turn it on.

• Use of Google Play Store: Android smartphones which do not have it in-built can download official and safe tools from Play Store like KineStop (Motion Sickness Aid) app. This app works on the exact same technology and draws animated horizontal artificial lines or dots based on sensors on the screen, instantly preventing motion sickness.

Apart from turning on this feature of the phone, taking care of some basic habits during the journey makes the journey more pleasant:

• Select the front car seat: While traveling, always try to sit on the seat next to the driver, from where the road and horizon in front can be clearly seen.

• Get fresh air through window screens: Instead of the closed air of AC, open the window for some time and get fresh natural air.

• Light food and drink: Avoid eating excessively oily, heavy or sour food just before leaving for a journey. Keep a mint tablet, lemon or ginger piece with you.