I get carsick in the back seat of a sedan on a straight highway. I am not proud of it. On a winding mountain road, I am basically useless after about twenty minutes — eyes closed, window cracked, breathing through my mouth while everyone else enjoys the scenery.

Dramamine works, but it knocks me out. I took it once before a road trip and slept through six hours of coastline that I had been looking forward to seeing. That felt like a waste. So I went looking for alternatives that do not involve a pharmaceutical coma.

Fix Your Gaze on the Horizon

Motion sickness happens when your inner ear senses movement but your eyes tell a different story — like when you are reading in a moving car. Your brain gets confused and assumes you have been poisoned. Nausea follows.

The fix is to give your eyes and inner ear the same information. Look at the horizon — the fixed distant point tells your brain you are moving through space in a stable way. If you are in a car, sit in the front seat and look out the windshield. On a boat, stay on deck where you can see the water meeting the sky.

Ginger Actually Works

Multiple studies have found that ginger reduces motion sickness as effectively as over-the-counter medications, without the drowsiness. Eat a few slices of crystallized ginger or drink ginger tea about 30 minutes before travel. I keep a bag of ginger chews in my glove compartment now. They are not delicious — they are spicy and make your mouth tingle — but they work.

Acupressure Wristbands

Those elastic wristbands with the plastic bead that presses on the inside of your wrist? They are based on a real acupuncture point called P6 or Nei-Kuan. Are they placebo? Maybe. But I have used them on two boat trips where I did not get sick, and I am not asking too many questions. They cost about eight dollars and have no side effects. Worth trying.

Fresh Air and Temperature

Crack a window or aim the air vent at your face. Cool moving air reduces nausea for reasons that are not fully understood but are well documented. If you are on a plane, aim the overhead nozzle at your face and keep it on low.