The mystery of motion sickness - Rose Eveleth

Translator: Hafizh Alfarisi Reviewer: Made Pramana

Can you read in the car?

Bisa membaca di dalam mobil? Jika iya, kamu cukup beruntung.

If so, consider yourself pretty lucky.

For one-third of the population,

Bagi sepertiga populasi, membaca buku saat di dalam mobil yang bergerak

looking at a book while moving along in a car

or a boat or train or plane

atau di kapal, kereta, pesawat, akan langsung membuat mereka mual.

quickly makes them sick to their stomach.

Tapi kenapa kita bisa terkena mabuk perjalanan?

But why do we get motion sickness in the first place?

Well, believe it or not, scientists aren't exactly sure.

Percaya atau tidak, ilmuwan belum paham betul.

Teori paling umum adalah sinyal indra yang bertolak belakang.

The most common theory has to do

with mismatched sensory signals.

Saat naik mobil, tubuhmu mendapat dua pesan berbeda.

When you travel in a car, your body gets two different messages.

Matamu melihat bagian dalam kendaraan, yang kelihatannya tidak bergerak.

Your eyes are seeing the inside of a vehicle,

which doesn't seem to be moving.

Sementara telingamu memberi tahu otakmu bahwa kamu sedang melaju.

Meanwhile, your ear is telling your brain you're accelerating.

Tunggu, kupingmu?

Wait, your ear?

Your ear has another important function besides hearing.

Kupingmu punya fungsi lain yang penting selain untuk mendengar.

In its innermost part lies a group of structures known as the vestibular system,

Di bagian terdalam, ada struktur yang disebut sistem vestibula,

yang memberi kita rasa seimbang dan gerak.

which gives us our sense of balance and movement.

Di dalamnya ada tiga pipa setengah lingkaran

Inside there are three semicircular tubules

yang bisa merasakan rotasi, satu untuk tiap dimensi ruang.

that can sense rotation, one for each dimension of space.

Di sana pula ada dua kantong berambut berisi cairan.

And there are also two hair-lined sacks filled with fluid.

Saat bergerak, cairan bergeser dan mengitik rambut

When you move, the fluid shifts and tickles the hairs,

agar otakmu tahu jika kamu bergerak horizontal atau vertikal.

telling your brain if you're moving horizontally or vertically.

All this tells your body which direction you're moving in,

Semua ini membuat tubuhmu tahu ke mana kamu bergerak,

seberapa cepatnya kamu, bahkan di sudut mana.

how much you've accelerated, even at what angle.

Di mobil, sistem vestibula merasakan pergerakanmu dengan benar,

In a car,

your vestibular system correctly senses your movement,

tapi matamu tak melihatnya, terutama saat terpaku ke buku.

but your eyes don't see it, especially when glued to a book.

Kebalikannya bisa terjadi. Misal kamu di bioskop

The opposite can happen.

You're at the movies, and the camera makes a sweeping move.

dan kamera bergeser secara luas.

Kali ini, matamu pikir kau bergerak sementara telingamu tahu kau sedang duduk.

This time, your eyes think you're moving

while your ear knows you're sitting still.

Tapi kenapa informasi berlainan ini membuat kita tak nyaman?

But why does this conflicting information make us feel so terrible?

Ilmuwan belum tahu, tapi mereka pikir ada penjelasan dari sisi evolusi.

Scientists aren't sure,

but they think there's an evolutionary explanation.

Kendaraan cepat dan perekaman video baru ada beberapa abad terakhir,

Fast moving vehicles and video recordings

have only existed in the last couple of centuries,

waktu yang singkat untuk masa evolusi.

a blink in evolutionary time.

Di hampir seluruh sejarah kita, tak banyak penyebab kekacauan indra,

For most of our history, there wasn't that much

that could cause this sensory mix-up,

except for poisons.

kecuali racun.

And because poisons are not the best thing for survival,

Karena racun bukan hal baik untuk bertahan hidup

tubuh kita mengembangkan cara langsung tapi tak nyaman

our bodies evolved a direct but unpleasant way

untuk membuang yang kita telan dan menyebabkan kekacauan.

to get rid of what we ate that was causing the confusion.

It's a pretty reasonable theory, but it leaves things unexplained,

Teori ini cukup beralasan, tapi menyisakan banyak tanda tanya.

Misal kenapa wanita mudah mabuk perjalanan dari pria

like why women are more affected by motion sickness than men,

atau kenapa penumpang mudah mual ketimbang pengemudi.

or why passengers get more nauseous than drivers.

Teori lain menyebut alasannya lebih kepada

Another theory suggests that the cause is more about

the way some unfamiliar situations

bagaimana kondisi asing menyulitkan menjaga posisi tubuh alami kita.

make it harder to maintain our natural body posture.

Studies show that being immersed in water or just changing your stance

Studi menunjukkan berada di air atau mengubah cara berdiri saja

bisa sangat mengurangi dampak mabuk perjalanan.

can greatly reduce the effects of motion sickness.

But we don't really know what's going on.

Namun, kita tak tahu pasti yang terjadi.

We know the more common remedies for car queasiness --

Kita tahu pengobatan umum untuk mabuk di mobil --

looking at the horizon, over-the-counter pills, chewing gum,

melihat langit, kunyah permen karet, minum obat bebas,

but none are totally reliable

tapi tak satu pun bisa diandalkan atau bisa mengatasi mabuk perjalanan hebat.

nor can they handle intense motion sickness

and sometimes the stakes are far higher than just not being bored

Kadang masalah ini lebih gawat daripada merasa bosan selama perjalanan panjang.

during a long car ride.

Di NASA, saat astronot meluncur ke angkasa dengan kecepatan 17.000 mil per jam

At NASA, where astronauts are hurled into space at 17,000 miles per hour,

motion sickness is a serious problem.

mabuk perjalanan jadi isu genting.

In addition to researching the latest space-age technologies,

Di samping meneliti teknologi era antariksawan terbaru,

NASA also spends a lot of time

NASA juga mengisi banyak waktu mencari cara

figuring out how to keep astronauts from vomiting up their space rations.

agar astronot tak memuntahkan ransumnya.

Like understanding the mysteries of sleep or curing the common cold,

Sama halnya memahami misteri tidur atau menyembuhkan selesma,

motion sickness is one of those seemingly simple problems that,

mabuk perjalanan jadi salah satu masalah sederhana,

yang meski dengan kemajuan sains, kita belum banyak mengetahuinya.

despite amazing scientific progress, we still know very little about.

Perhaps one day the exact cause of motion sickness will be found,

Mungkin penyebab pasti mabuk perjalanan akan ditemukan,

bersama dengan cara efektif untuk mencegahnya,

and with it, a completely effective way to prevent it,

but that day is still on the horizon.

tapi hari itu masih jauh.