[1] The most common symptoms are general discomfort, eye strain, headache, stomach awareness, nausea, vomiting, pallor, sweating, fatigue, drowsiness, disorientation, and apathy.
[citation needed] A major trigger of virtual reality sickness is when there is disparity in apparent motion between the visual and vestibular stimuli.
[19] There are fewer reports of oculomotor distress on smaller screens; however, most simulation setups with motion parallax effects can still induce eyestrain, fatigue, and general discomfort over time.
[20] Time spent immersed in a virtual environment contributes to sickness symptom presence due to the increasing effects of fatigue on the user.
[20] Oculomotor symptoms are the most common to occur due to immersion time, but the nature of the user's movements (e.g., whole-body vs. head-only) is suggested to be the primary cause of nausea or physical sickness.
[20] According to several studies, introducing a static frame of reference (independent visual background) may reduce simulation sickness.
[22][23][24] A technique called Nasum Virtualis shows a virtual nose as a fixed frame of reference for VR headsets.
[32] Using two small screens in the user's peripheral field of view, the device displays visual information consistent with vestibular inputs, avoiding the sensory conflict.
[33] To alleviate these symptoms, methods such as gradual adaptation to VR, the use of natural remedies like ginger, and wearing acupressure bracelets are effective.
Choosing VR games designed to minimize motion sickness can also reduce nausea and improve the user experience.
[34] With the integration of virtual reality into the more commercial mainstream, issues have begun to arise in relation to VR sickness in head-mounted gaming devices.
[35] While research on head-mounted VR for gaming dates back to the early 1990s,[36] the potential for mass usability has only become recently realized.
This inherently presents an issue, in that this type of interactive VR often involves standing or walking for a fully immersive experience.