Trampolines are a great play zone to spend some recreational time at. They’re many times set up outdoors, and friends and family love to spend time in it and do some exercise alongside. But jumping at a stretch on a trampoline sometimes makes us feel sick. We get headaches or dizziness.
In such situations, you might have wondered, why does jumping on a trampoline make me dizzy? Well, the answer has a lot to do with your brain itself! In this article, we’ll tell you all about why we feel motion sickness on a trampoline and how to prevent it. Read more below to find out.
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Why Do We Feel Dizzy After Jumping on a Trampoline?
Rebounding on trampolines is always fun and exciting. It’s good exercise as it keeps our muscles healthy and strengthens our bones. Both adults and children love a good trampoline session. However, many people have noted that they often feel dizzy after rebounding on the equipment for a while. Some even feel headaches afterward.
Well, these are all symptoms of motion sickness. And we feel this way on a trampoline because our brain can’t comprehend the continuous change of direction in our motion. Let us elaborate on some of the reasons why motion sickness occurs below:
- The Role of the Inner Ear
Beside the middle ear in our skull, we have something called the inner ear that controls our body’s postural balance and equilibrium. Basically, it helps our body maintain its posture and supports the organs to stay in place when we’re in motion. The inner ear does all this by coordinating with our brain.
So, when we’re on a trampoline, the inner ear loses balance in its system due to the constant jumping, and we start feeling dizzy. In simple words, our brain is used to processing one direction at a time, be it forward, backward, upwards, or downwards. But when we’re on a trampoline, we’re rapidly switching our directions between up and down.
So, it is seen that by the time the inner ear can signal the brain that the body’s moving up, we’re already moving down. Sometimes, people also do tricks like spinning on a trampoline, which gets more challenging for the brain to process. The constant change in direction creates a ruckus inside our brain, creating an imbalance.
As a result, we get motion sickness, and people start getting dizzy. Moreover, some people also feel headaches, nausea, or a tendency to vomit.
- Being New to Trampolining
The symptoms mentioned above are all very common if someone’s new to jumping on a trampoline. If they put too much pressure on themselves the first day, the brain will get more confused and start showing all side effects. This is another reason why you can get motion sickness on your very first day of trampolining.
Therefore, you need to follow some particular methods so that you can avoid all these ugly consequences.
Ways to Avoid Motion Sickness
Trampolines are supposed to be a fun sport. No one likes feeling dizzy or getting a head if they’re at an outdoor party or picnic. It surely ruins all the fun. That’s why when you’re getting on a trampoline, you must take all the measures to avoid dizziness. Have fun, but in a controllable amount.
Hence, some of the tips to avoid motion sickness are stated below.
1. Prepare Yourself
Even though jumping on a trampoline is very easy, it can be excruciating in terms of your manual labor. That’s why prepare yourself to go through toil. Do some warm-ups and stretch up your body first. Start with your muscles all relaxed and then gradually move on to extensive exercise.
As you prepare your body for labor, your brain will also be prepared to take it all.
2. Start With Small Jumps
Knowing your body’s limit when starting on a trampoline is essential. You can’t expect your body to be okay if you start going for the biggest rebounds right after getting on the trampoline. Like warming up, give your mind and body to settle in after starting the jumps.
Go slow. Take small hops first. Put in slight force and then gradually increase your speed. You can do small jumps by staying on the far left or right of the trampoline. Because in round trampolines, the highest rebounds happen in the center. So, start from the side and slowly move to the middle to let your brain get accustomed to it.
3. Don’t Do Excessive High Jumps
Just as we taught you to start with small jumps, we recommend that you don’t jump too high on a trampoline. Being so high up in the air and then landing with heavy force can definitely make you dizzy and give you headaches. Moreover, if you’re a novice at this sport, you shouldn’t attempt out-of-ordinary high jumps.
Because your body is not used to it, your brain will have a harder time processing these rebounds, and you will end up getting motion sickness. What you can do is increase your limit bit by bit every day so that you don’t take your brain surprised. Gradually make it used to it.
4. Keep Your Head Steady
Another reason why we can feel dizzy on a trampoline is if we move our heads too much. While up in the air, many people look left and right and keep their heads in constant motion. Things like this take aback our brains even when spinning or riding a rollercoaster.
So, it’s natural that we’ll also feel the same way on a trampoline. Hence, try to keep your head straight and still when jumping on the springs. Don’t look down or in any other direction. Make sure that you’re looking straight and maintaining a steady position. In this way, you can avoid getting motion sickness.
5. Keep Yourself Hydrated
Dizziness doesn’t only happen due to motion sickness. We’ll also get dizzy on a trampoline if our body does not have enough water. Dehydration makes people feel sick and nauseous even when they’re sitting still. So, intense physical activity like jumping on a trampoline will make you dizzy if dehydrated.
I feel dizzy even when I stand up from my bed, dehydrated! So, you can understand the amount of tension our body will feel in this situation if we’re constantly jumping up and down. Besides, while rebounding on a trampoline, our brain needs sufficient blood supply. Staying hydrated can keep blood pressure regular.
6. Have Enough Energy
You will definitely faint on a trampoline if you get on it without having adequate energy for it. It’s an intensely physical activity, so our body needs to be fully charged to release sweat. That’s why you ensure you’ve eaten and feel energized before getting on a trampoline. You cannot afford to be tired or weak.
Final Words
Trampolining is a fun activity for both children and adults. Everyone likes to try their luck on a trampoline and jump as high and as long as they can. But in fun moments like this, we often face a bummer when we start feeling dizzy or want to throw up. This is not an uncommon scenario at all.
And in situations like this, you might’ve asked yourself, why does jumping on a trampoline make me dizzy? Well, in this article, we’ve given you all the answers! Now, you also know how to prevent dizziness, so apply those techniques before getting on the trampoline.
Last Updated on September 5, 2022
