Why turbulence occurs and how our body reacts to it

Turbulence is caused by uneven air movement that increases in frequency. While turbulence can be unnerving and make you feel unwell, it is important to understand that it is very common and usually not a concern if you are in your seat with your seat belt fastened.

This week, the UK has been hit by another flurry of bad weather, causing many flights to be delayed, canceled, or diverted to other airports. Passengers consistently said that the rest of the flight and the attempts to land were some of the most nerve-wracking they had ever experienced due to turbulence," writes Firstpost.

While turbulence can be unnerving and make you feel unwell, it's important to understand that it's very common and usually not a concern if you're in your seat with your seat belt fastened.

How does the body react to this phenomenon?

The body recognizes itself in any environment. Its relationship with objects in terms of distance and direction is called spatial orientation. During flight, this is usually forward movement, ascent, some turns, and descent. However, turbulence disrupts this connection and confuses the sensory information coming to the brain - this causes the body to react or recalibrate.

When an airplane hits turbulence, the balance apparatus cannot distinguish between the movement of the airplane and the movement of the head, so the brain interprets the movement of the airplane as the movement of the head or body. But this does not match the visual information received, which causes sensory confusion.

Eighty percent of the spatial information during a flight comes from your eyes. However, you only have the seat in front of you or the airplane cabin as a reference point, which means that during turbulence, your inner ear becomes the dominant sensory message to your brain and disrupts the "vestibulo-ocular reflex". This reflex keeps your vision in line with your balance or expected position.

This mixing of sensory messages often leads to dizziness and sweating, as well as gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Turbulence also causes an increase in heart rate, which is already higher than normal during a flight due to reduced oxygen saturation.

How to reduce discomfort

• A window seat or even looking out the window can help. This gives the brain some sensory information through the visual pathways, helping to calm the brain in response to the vestibular information it receives.
• If you have the option, sitting at the front of the plane or over a wing reduces the effects of turbulence.
• Deep or rhythmic breathing can help reduce motion sickness caused by turbulence. Focusing on breathing calms the nervous system.
• Don't reach for alcohol. Although it may feel like it calms your nerves, if you get into turbulence, it will interfere with your visual and auditory processing and increase the likelihood of vomiting.
• If you suffer from motion sickness and are worried about turbulence during a flight, there are medications that can help, including certain antihistamines.

Finally, it's important to remember that while turbulence can be unpleasant, airplanes are designed to withstand the forces it generates, and many passengers, even if they fly frequently, rarely experience the most severe categories of turbulence because pilots actively plan routes to avoid it.