If we ever really want to live for hours inside the metaverse, we're going to have to be able to keep our lunch down. And some researchers say that chewing gum could be the solution.
The great thing about VR and our future in the Metaverse is that it's an immersive 360-degree experience. It can be extremely fun to solve puzzles in a virtual car or play tennis against virtual opponents from all over the world. But certain experiences like running, fighting, or, as I discovered, flying a plane can cause nausea.
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Metaverse is an acronym for meta and universe used to describe a virtual universe, accessible through virtual reality, and it's taking over the world of technology.
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I'm lucky it never lasts long. I can just focus on a virtual object and calm the rising bile. I know others aren't so lucky and putting on a VR headset is like riding a wildly rocking boat without the benefit of Dramamine.
Now, a team of researchers in Germany has found that chewing gum can help relieve these symptoms. In a study from last year, participants took a 15-minute virtual reality helicopter flight (instead of passengers, they acted as crew members). Each of the 77 participants was assigned to a different control group. There were those without gum, those who chewed peppermint gum, and those who chewed ginger gum.
The results were, well, bubbly. The researchers found that chewing gum was effective in reducing virtual reality-induced motion sickness.
Instead of getting sick while flying a virtual reality helicopter, the noisy, stimulating mechanical gum interfered with what would normally activate the participants' inner ear or vestibular system (primarily responsible for motion sickness). The researchers also noted that chewing gum distracts from motion sickness, as does, they say, the pleasure of savoring the flavor of delicious gum.
Ultimately, the results weren't entirely surprising to the research team, who noted that they supported similar findings from a 2017 study involving the use of chewing gum to combat postoperative nausea.
While few of us still spend enough time in virtual reality to need some sort of nausea reliever, the vision of the metaverse in which we carry out many of today's common activities in virtual space may mean that either we evolve to combat nausea on our own... or we start chewing a lot more gum.