Where is best to sit on a plane to avoid motion sickness?

[bringitbacktome]

Well I'm not actually sure if it's that or vertigo.
I go dizzy on planes mostly when turning or dropping to lane.
I'm going to Gran Canaria soon and I'm sat on the left side of plane in row 20.
As you come into land at GC it takes a big turn right
At this point I normally go dizzy
Do you think if I sit on the right side of the plane it won't be as bad ?
Any tips would be great

*dropping to land

Over the wings.

TBH it depends what is triggering the sensations you are getting.

In general terms you get the least motion over the wings/center of the cabin..

Left or right side of the cabin shouldn't really matter unless you are being triggered by visual stimulus such as the view out of the window.

Just to add:

You can get get some really interesting physiological effects (i.e. dizziness) if you turn your head quickly whilst the aircraft is rolling into/out of a turn ( the reasons for this is all to do with your semi-circular canals).

If you sense the aircraft is turning you might be able to reduce dizziness by trying not to turn your head to look out of the window.

Some folks find that's tough to resist because they find looking out helps - you might have to experiment and see what if anything works for you.

Weirdly for me I feel better looking out of the window
If I look at things moving it helps
If I was to just look ahead at the seat I feel worse
Turns are a massive trigger

I get motion sick and take Sturgeron when I fly which helps

Both my children used to get awful sickness on planes (not fun as we would fly from
aus to the U.K. twice a year!). Kwells work to prevent it very effectually, we haven’t had any sickness since.

We went on a whale watching trip last year and honestly it was the most nausea causing thing I’ve ever done (and I don’t get motion sick) and none of us threw up because we’d all taken Kwells.

I completely sympathise OP, I’ve yet to find any travel tablets that work 100% for me and I have tried them all plus the wristbands.
Sitting over the wings, not looking out of the window, not eating before or during a flight and sipping Diet Coke or fizzy water helps plus sucking peppermints.

I find sometimes deliberately moving my head around helps. I look like a complete loon but whatever! It sort of blocks out the movement of the plane so my brain just thinks I'm moving my head, and doesn't notice the whole plane movement.

As far from the engines as you can

I get this with taking off. It's horrible. Then the ear daggers on landing and 2 day deafness after. I think (for me) looking straight ahead at a fixed reference point helps with dizziness a bit, more than position in the plane.

I take sturgeon and sleep through most of the journey.

Ex Flight Attendant turned nurse trying to help. Assuming it’s the sway of the plane that gets you, try to get as close to the front of the plane as possible. They’re made from aluminium, so they’re flexible and kind of “wobble” a bit due to friction and weather. If it’s a big plane you will see that business and first class are always up the front for this reason.
For some people motion sickness is like vertigo - a problem with the middle ear’s ability to stabilize. Packing one ear very tightly with cotton wool can help, as it changed the messages the brain is receiving from the middle ear.
Using a decongestant nose spray just before you get on the plane and when the aircraft starts it’s descent can also help by drying up any fluid in the Eustachian tubes that may prevent air from moving in (ascending) or out (landing) of the ear canal.
Also, if it’s something that really plagues you, (and a long enough flight) don’t be afraid to try and get your doctor to prescribe an anti-emetic or some Phenergan. (It’s an antihistamine that is a very effective anti-nausea med.) Most of them make you sleepy (bonus, imo) but never have them with alcohol. There are some anti-emetics that don’t make you sleepy, but they’re usually less prescribed as expensive. I live in Aus so don’t want to suggest specifics.

Talking of prescriptions, our Dr prescribed Zofran to my son who would sometimes vomit up to once every 15 minutes for the last couple of hours of a flight, poor thing. This stops it in its tracks.
He’s only needed it once since he takes Kwells and that was when I slept through the time to give him the next tablet.

*.... . Assuming it’s the sway of the plane that gets you, try to get as close to the front of the plane as possible. They’re made from aluminium, so they’re flexible and kind of “wobble” a bit due to friction and weather. If it’s a big plane you will see that business and first class are always up the front for this reason."

Sorry to be picky but I'd have to disagree a tiny bit with some of that. Yes, there's certainly usually generally less gross movement at the front than back, and you're also right that there can be a spring board effect, especially on long bodied aircraft, that can make the ride in the rear rows the worse in the house..

However in response to turbulence (and also control input) an aircraft rotates/pivots around it's centre of mass, which is usually around the vicinity of the wing roots - i.e. maybe a third/half way back in the cabin...so if you're really trying for the smoothest spot the seating preference should be mid>front>back.

Business and First are generally upfront simply so the high rollers can get off first.

Centre of gravity is over/under the wings. A seat there will minimise the feeling of movement. An aircraft is like a giant hinge, the povot/fulcrum is located directly above the main gear. The further forward you are from the main gear the more movement you feel, especially during take off and landing. Being behind the main gear isn't usually as bad, but this depends on the aircraft.

More modern aircraft like the A350 XWB have forward facing IFE cameras, these really help with motion sickness as passengers can "see" the aircrafts movement.

A trick I was taught (which does seem to work if there isn't cameras on your IFE) is to keep your head facing the direction the front of the aircraft is moving. So, on take-off, look straight ahead, then tilt your head up slightly as the aircraft rotates, then bring your head back level as soon as it leaves the ground. During the landing cycle, look straight ahead (never out the window) and then tilt your head down slightly as soon as you feel the main gear touch the runway, bringing your head back level for the roll-out (the bit where the aircraft is slowing down after it lands) When turning, look in the direction the aircraft is turning towards and bring your head directly forward once the turn is cometed.

And some anti-sickness tablets for good measure.