4 Acupressure Points for Motion Sickness That You Can Activate Now

Summer is here, and people across the world are excited to get out of the house and start enjoying “me” time. But a staggering 1-in-3 people will suffer from motion sickness. Whether you’re on a boat, in a car or in the pool or ocean, you can activate acupressure points for motion sickness that will help alleviate your symptoms.

In fact, once you know where these points are located and how to active them, you can live a truly care-free summer.

4 Acupressure Points for Motion Sickness

1. Nei Guan

If you want to get rid of motion sickness, nausea and/or upset stomach, you want to know how to locate the P6/PC6 point.

How to Find It

Finding this pressure point is fast and easy, and since it’s located on your wrist, you won’t look out of place when activating it. You'll want to go through the following steps to find the right location before activating:

• Place your palm towards the sky.
• Run your finger down the middle of your wrist.
• Apply pressure until you find two tendons.

The tendons will be between your forearm and just below your wrist. Typically, the point is about four fingers width below the wrist, and you’ll also find a depressed area between the tendons, which is where the activation will take place.

How to Activate

Activating the Nei Guan is easy. Once you’ve found the pressure point, you’ll want to begin massaging and applying pressure to the two tendons. You only need to do this for a few seconds for your P6 to activate.

If you’re having issues with the symptoms subsiding, you can continue massaging the pressure point for 30 to 60 seconds as needed.

2. He Gu

A major meridian point, called the Large Intestine 4 (LI4) or He Gu, is a great option for trying to alleviate motion sickness. The only time that you may want to skip activating this pressure point is when you’re pregnant.

How to Find It

Open up your hand, either hand will suffice, and find the “webbing” that connects your thumb and index finger. You'll want to try and find the area where there’s a depression (where the thumb and index finger bones meet).

Many people call this the “valley,” so examine your hand and you’ll be sure to find it.

How to Activate

LI4 is considered a master point, and it’s one that you can activate every day for general health. When you activate this point, you’ll be supporting your digestive system, which can be useful for a variety of discomfort, including motion sickness and nausea.

You'll want to gently massage this area for up to 60 seconds as needed.

If you have the flu or a cold, He Gu can be activated because it is vital for immune health. Since this acupressure point is so strong and vital, it is one of the most important to be able to locate and activate.

3. Feng Chi

The Feng Chi (GB20) or Gallbladder 20 pressure point is a great option if you’re suffering from low energy, motion sickness or headaches. And while the name would indicate that this vital point is near your gallbladder, it is not.

How to Find It

Feng Chi is located where your neck muscles are attached to the skull on the back of your head. If you follow these steps, you’ll be able to locate the GB20 with relative ease:

• Clasp your hands together, interlocking your fingers in the process.
• Place your interlocked hands behind your head.
• Make sure that your thumbs are pointing down towards your neck.
• Run your thumbs down the groove in the back of your neck near the ear bone.
• Find where the neck muscles attach to your skull.

You'll want to be sure that your hands are clasped together during activation to maximize the benefits of this pressure point.

How to Activate

Activation requires you to use your thumbs to massage the area for 4 to 5 seconds at a time. You'll want to try and relax these neck muscles, ensuring that you’re breathing deeply during the massage.

If you have a friend or loved one available, they can also massage the Feng Chi point for you if you’re stiff or having difficulty massaging the area yourself.

4. Tai Chong

Tai Chong, also known as Liver 3 (LV3), is another master point much like the LV4, which we outlined previously. But the positioning for LV4 is on your foot rather than your hand. This is a key pressure point to activate when you’re experiencing any of the following:

• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Cramps
• High blood pressure
• Low back pain
• Motion sickness

Finding this point is simple, too.

How to Find It

You can find the Tai Chong by taking off your socks and/or shoes and placing your foot in front of you. The next steps are:

• Locate your big toe and move your finger to the space between the big toe and second toe.
• Run your finger up towards your ankle bone.
• Locate the skin that connects the big toe and the second toe.
• The pressure point is about two fingers-width above this area.

Since this is a difficult pressure point to describe in text, we highly advise looking for pictures on the right location of Tai Chong to make sure that you’re hitting the point precisely.

How to Activate

Once you’ve found this area, you can use your thumb to apply pressure to the point for 2 to 3 seconds at a time. You can also massage this pressure point for a few seconds if that’s more comfortable for you.

The goal is to stimulate the pressure point, and it’s very similar to how you would stimulate other pressure points on our list.

Motion sickness is never fun to deal with, and it can easily derail a fun trip, vacation or a day out in a boat. If you suffer from motion sickness or want to be prepared for anyone else experiencing sickness, knowing these acupressure points allow you to naturally feel better.