Effectiveness of acupressure and acustimulation in minimizing driving simulation adaptation syndrome.

We investigated the efficacy of acupressure and acustimulation in alleviating symptoms of Simulation Adaptation Syndrome (SAS). Twenty-five drivers (mean age = 35.6) reporting a history of driving-related sickness, motion sickness, and/or seasickness were recruited for a within subject, repeated-measures crossover study. Of all participants, 16 reported SAS during a placebo condition. These 16 participants drove the Atari research simulator for 15 minutes on 3 separate days (same time each day), wearing: (a) a placebo device, (b) acupressure beads, and (c) an acu-stimulation device. Every 3 minutes during each drive, participants rated their physical discomfort. Overall, the analysis of variance condition effect was significant (p < 0.05). Participants in the acustimulation condition reported significantly less physical discomfort (p < 0.005) compared with the placebo. There were no significant differences between the acupressure and placebo conditions or the acupressure and acustimulation conditions. These data suggest that acustimulation can help to significantly reduce or prevent SAS-related nausea and physical discomfort.