Why do screens, flickering lights, and visual spaces cause dizziness?

Have you ever walked into a mall, a supermarket, or even scrolled on your phone and suddenly your head "floats"? It's not just sensory overload. It is a brain mechanism.

How it works: Our balance system operates based on a combination of three information sources:

1. Inner ear: senses motion and position

2. Vision: understands the environment

3. Muscles and joints: feel the body in space

When vision sends the brain different information than what the ear feels, the brain enters a "confusion mode" that can trigger a reaction similar to seasickness.

What do studies say? Research from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2023) showed that light flickering in LED screens causes over-activation of the vestibular brain. People with vestibular sensitivity were found to have Hyperexcitability—oversensitivity in the brainstem, causing even small visual movement to be interpreted as a threat. Even walking between shelf aisles (like in the supermarket) can constitute a "visual attack" on the system.

What can be done?

• Lower brightness and choose "flicker-free mode."

• Use Dark Mode.

• Add a stable focal point (e.g., a wall or distant object when entering a place with many stimuli).

• Vestibular exercises may teach the brain to react less dramatically.

So where do you feel most unstable? Supermarket, phone screen, in a car, airport? Share, it can help others recognize they are not alone.