Reading in the Car Makes Me Nauseous, but This App Helps.
I get very motion sick when I try to read in a moving car. And there’s a reason for that: my eyes and my perception of motion are out of sync.
At least, that’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, stating that motion sickness “occurs when the motion you perceive differs from what your inner ear senses.” The inner ear is a sac of fluid that moves with you, providing you with an innate sense of motion. If you’re in a car looking at the horizon, your senses are aligned. But if you’re looking at your phone, your senses are confused. This is similar to why VR games make some people feel nauseous .
The free Android app KineStop aims to help. It overlays a transparent horizontal line and a series of transparent dots across the entire screen. Your phone’s accelerometer is used to move these reference points as you move the phone, helping to reduce the conflict between your eyes and inner ear. You can enable this feature manually in the app or, if you prefer, set it to turn on automatically while you’re driving.
I tried it, hoping it would help me cope with car sickness, and to my surprise, it did. I usually can’t read for more than a few minutes without feeling nauseous, but the KineStop app helped me do it longer without discomfort. Sure, I still won’t be able to read novels on a long drive, but I can find the nearest restaurant en route without vomiting, and I consider that a victory.
KineStop is completely free, although there is a paid version for $3.50 that adds themed overlays, including one that makes it look like your phone is a half-empty beer can. The developer’s support is great, but I also think the free version is fine for most users.