Instead of relying on motion sickness medication, you can try the following methods to stay alert during long journeys.

Motion sickness is a syndrome that occurs when traveling by boat, car, or airplane. Common symptoms include dizziness, nausea or vomiting, excessive sweating, and low blood pressure. Medically, it is called vestibular disorder due to motion. Therefore, to prevent motion sickness, you can apply the following methods to travel long distances without feeling sick:

1. Prevent motion sickness with ginger
According to traditional Eastern medicine, to prevent motion sickness, about 30 minutes before departure, you should take a piece of fresh ginger about the size of your thumb, peel it, wash it, crush it, or chew it, and drink it with a cup of warm water. During the journey, occasionally suck on a slice.

Ginger is one of the ways to travel long distances without getting motion sickness (illustrative image).
In traditional medicine, ginger is pungent and warm, affecting the lungs, spleen, and stomach meridians. It helps release the exterior, dispel cold, warm the middle, resolve phlegm, promote urination, and detoxify. In herbal medicine, whether the patient has excess, deficiency, or heat, practitioners often use 3–5 slices of fresh ginger.

Fresh ginger, also called “sheng jiang,” helps disperse wind-cold and prevent nausea and vomiting. Therefore, using ginger to prevent motion sickness is simple, effective, and free from side effects.

2. Prevent motion sickness with tangerine peel
About one hour before getting on the vehicle, peel a tangerine, fold the peel in half, place it between your nostrils, and squeeze to release the essential oils with a pleasant aroma. You can inhale this about ten times.

You can also do this at any time while sitting on the vehicle.

3. Prevent motion sickness by pressing the Neiguan acupoint
Pressing the Neiguan acupoint (located on the inner wrist, above the transverse wrist crease, approximately between the middle finger and the tendons of the hand) is a method often used by traditional Eastern medicine doctors.

4. Prevent motion sickness by eating and smelling bread
Eating bread stimulates the pancreas to secrete trypsin. This enzyme interacts with the amino acids in the bread to calm the nervous system. Additionally, you can smell the bread crust to avoid inhaling vehicle fumes or other odors that may cause nausea.

Eating and smelling bread is a way to travel long distances without getting motion sickness (illustrative image).

5. Prevent motion sickness with betel leaves
You can place betel leaves on your navel, use a muslin cloth or handkerchief to hold them in place, and secure with tape or a cloth wrap.

Betel leaves also help you travel long distances without motion sickness (illustrative image).
The leaves help warm the navel area. Keeping 1–2 leaves in hand to occasionally smell can mask the smell of fuel and reduce fatigue and motion sickness.

6. Prevent motion sickness by wrapping a dry towel
Similar to using betel leaves, wrapping a dry towel to keep warm from the back of the neck to the chest can also be very effective for some people in preventing motion sickness.