Why Do Video Games Make Me Feel Sick? Motion Sickness From Games Explained

You sit down for a session, and twenty minutes later you feel warm, a little dizzy and faintly queasy. You were not moving at all. The game was.

That feeling is common enough to have a name: visually induced motion sickness, sometimes called simulator sickness or cybersickness. Some estimates suggest a substantial share of players feel it at least occasionally, particularly with first person games and virtual reality. It is not a sign that you are bad at games. It is your balance system doing exactly what it evolved to do.

Why It Happens: Your Senses Disagree

Your brain works out whether you are moving using several sources at once:

• Your eyes, which see the world shifting around you
• Your inner ear (the vestibular system), which senses acceleration, rotation and which way is down
• Your body, through pressure on your feet or seat and the position of your joints

Normally they agree. When you walk, all three report walking. In a game, your eyes report that you are sprinting, turning and jumping while your inner ear and body report that you are sitting perfectly still on a sofa.

The most widely accepted explanation, sensory conflict theory, says the brain does not like that mismatch. It is the reverse of classic car sickness, where you feel the motion but are looking at a still book. Either way, the senses disagree, and the brain responds with symptoms: dizziness, sweating, yawning, headache, eye strain and nausea.

Why nausea in particular is still debated. One older idea is that the brain treats a sensory mismatch like a possible sign of poisoning and prepares to get rid of it. Whatever the reason, the reaction is real and mostly involuntary.

Which Games Trigger It Most

Not all games are equal. The things that tend to make it worse:

Games with a fixed or slow camera, such as most puzzle, strategy and side scrolling games, rarely cause problems. Fast first person shooters, racing games and some large open world games are the usual suspects.

Can Phone Games Make You Sick?

Less often, but yes. A phone fills only a small slice of your vision, so the motion signal is weaker than on a big TV or in a headset. Most people never feel anything from a phone game.

It becomes more likely when:

• The game has fast vertical or spinning scrolling that fills the screen
• You hold the phone close to your face
• You play in a moving car, bus or train, which adds a real motion conflict on top
• You are already tired, hungry or a bit unwell

Playing as a passenger is the most common trigger. Your body feels the vehicle moving while your eyes are locked on a screen that moves in a completely different way. If you get car sick when reading, you will probably feel it with games on the road too.

What Actually Helps

Change the settings first

If the game offers them, these settings make the biggest difference:

1. **Raise the field of view.** A wider FOV makes motion feel slower and more natural

2. **Turn off motion blur, camera shake and head bob.** They add movement with no gameplay value

3. **Lower the camera turn speed** or mouse sensitivity, so turns are smoother

4. **Turn on a fixed point** if available. A small crosshair or dot in the middle of the screen gives your eyes something stable to anchor to

5. **Aim for a steady frame rate.** Lower the graphics quality if it stops stuttering

Change your setup

• Sit further back from the screen, or hold the phone further away
• Play in a well lit room, so the screen is not your only visual reference
• Keep some fresh air moving; a stuffy warm room makes nausea worse
• Avoid playing on a full or completely empty stomach

Change how you play

• Stop at the first sign. Symptoms build, and pushing through usually makes the rest of the day worse
• Take regular breaks and look at something still and distant
• Build tolerance gradually. Many people adapt over days with short sessions that end before they feel ill. This is the same way sailors find their sea legs

What about remedies?

Ginger and acupressure bands are popular and cheap, though the evidence for them is mixed. Over the counter motion sickness tablets can work for some people but often cause drowsiness, which is not ideal for playing. If you are considering medication, ask a pharmacist.

When to See a Doctor

Mild gaming sickness that fades after you stop is normal and harmless. Talk to a doctor if:

• The dizziness comes on without any screen or motion trigger
• It lasts many hours or days
• It comes with hearing changes, ringing in the ears, double vision or severe headache

These can point to inner ear or other conditions that deserve a proper look.

A Gentler Kind of Game

If fast first person games leave you queasy, you do not have to give up games. Simple 2D games with a stable camera are much easier on the balance system.

Maglift is our endless sky climber for iPhone: a 2D one-tap game where you climb upwards and chase a high score in short runs. Most players will never feel unwell from a game like this.

To be honest about it, though: it does scroll continuously, so if you are very sensitive, playing in a moving car or holding the phone close to your face can still make you uncomfortable. Short runs, the phone at arm's length and a still room are the way to go. If you find yourself playing longer than you meant to, our piece on why endless games are so addictive explains the pull of one more run.

The Short Version

• Gaming sickness happens when your eyes see motion your inner ear does not feel
• First person view, narrow FOV, motion blur, camera shake and VR are the biggest triggers
• Phone games cause it less often, mostly when played in a moving vehicle or held close
• Widen FOV, switch off blur and shake, sit further back and stop at the first sign
• Tolerance builds with short, gradual sessions