Why don鈥檛 adults enjoy dizziness like children do? When I was a kid, I remember thinking that adults were rather boring for not enjoying the feeling of dizziness like I did, and I vowed to always enjoy it. Now, as an adult, I can鈥檛 stand it 鈥� it makes me want to throw up. It seems many other adults feel the same way. Why is this? Does something change in us as we age?
鈥� I still remember my first 鈥� and so far last 鈥� trip to a fairground. I was 15 and vomited after a ride on a merry-go-round. I couldn鈥檛 understand why my brother, who is three years younger than me, stayed for another ride.
Children obviously enjoy the feeling of dizziness 鈥� just look at how roundabouts in parks and playgrounds are packed with youngsters. They need that stimulation to develop a healthy balance system, which is necessary to crawl, walk and keep their bodies upright, even on a rocking boat.
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鈥淵oungsters need the stimulation of dizziness to develop a healthy balance system鈥�
Our balance system is controlled by three senses cooperating in complex harmony. The vestibular system in our inner ear informs us about the position of our head; our eyes tell us how our body is located in relation to the external world; and 鈥� receptors in muscles and joints 鈥� help us to figure out how our body is positioned in space, which is particularly helpful if we cannot see. These elements mature at different rates.
The vestibular system is fully operational by the time a child has reached 6 months of age, proprioceptors need three or four years more. The development of the visual element is complete by around 16 years of age.
The sensation of dizziness and nausea following a spinning movement is similar to motion sickness 鈥� a result of the conflicting information our brain receives from the three elements mentioned above.
When our body is rotating at speed our vestibular system and propioceptors can feel it, but our eyes can鈥檛 locate the horizon. Our brain is desperately trying to resolve this conflict and, because humans are primarily visual, it assumes that the other senses are hallucinating, probably because of intoxication. So the brain tries to get rid of the assumed poison by provoking vomiting.
It looks as if my brother鈥檚 balance system hadn鈥檛 fully matured at the time of our trip to the fairground, hence his brain wasn鈥檛 perceiving the sensory information as conflicting. Therefore, he could enjoy his ride on the merry-go-round while, unfortunately, his older sister could not.
Joanna Jastrzebska, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, UK
