Just watching an Olympic figure skater churn out a series of spins is enough to make you a little dizzy on your couch at home. So how do the athletes themselves manage to glide out of it without toppling over?

仅仅是坐在家里的沙发上观看奥运花样滑冰选手做出一系列的旋转动作就会让你感到有点眩晕。那么，运动员自己是如何在旋转后继续滑行并且没有摔倒呢？

To answer that, it’s necessary to understand what causes dizziness in the first place. It starts in your inner ear’s vestibular system, which contains three semicircular canals filled with fluid. Inside the fluid are hair cells. When you move, the fluid moves, stimulating the hair cells to send messages to your brain about your movement. Thanks to inertia, this process gets muddled when rapid rotation is involved.

为了解答这一问题，首先需要了解是什么导致眩晕？首先是内耳的前庭系统，这里有3个半圆形的导管，导管内充满了液体。液体内是毛细胞。当你移动时，液体也会移动，这会刺激毛细胞向大脑发送有关你移动的信号。由于惯性的存在，这一过程会在快速旋转时出现混乱。

“If you took a glass of water and put it on a lazy Susan, and you spin it just a little and then you stop it, the water won’t be moving,” Brandeis University neuroscientist Paul DiZio told Live Science. Spin the lazy Susan longer and faster, and when you abruptly halt it, the water will slosh around.

Brandeis大学的神经科学家Paul DiZio告诉“生活科学”（Live Science）：“如果你将一杯水放到旋转餐盘上，然后稍微转动餐盘并随后使其停止转动，杯子中的水并不会移动。”旋转餐盘旋转的时间越久，旋转得越快，那么当餐盘突然停下来时，水就会泼溅出来。

Inner ear fluid works in a similar way: The fluid will initially resist moving in the direction of your movement, but all the spinning will quickly exert enough force to cause it to do so. When you and your inner ear fluid are moving in the same direction at the same rate, the hair cells stop sending signals to the brain. But as soon as you stop, the fluid’s momentum will keep it going, the hair cells will send more messages, and your brain will think you’re moving when you’re not. Other parts of your body—especially your eyes—operate based on signals from your brain that you’re spinning, which can make you feel dizzy.

内耳液体的工作原理与之类似：液体最初会避免朝你移动的方向移动。但是，旋转很快就会产生足够的力以使之移动。当你和你的内耳液体朝着同样的方向并以同样的速度移动时，毛细胞就会停止向大脑发送信号。但是当你一停下来，液体的动能就会使液体继续移动，因而毛细胞也会发出更多的信号，大脑也会因此在你本没有移动的时候认为你还在移动。身体的其他部分-特别是你的眼睛-会根据大脑在你旋转时所发出的信号来工作，因此这会让你感觉眩晕。

Figure skaters don’t have some sort of superhuman inner ear fluid; they get dizzy, too. Their secret is essentially just endless practice. Novice skaters start out slow, with a rotation or two, and work their way up. There are even spinning harnesses they practice with off the ice so they can acclimate to the sensation. By exposing themselves repeatedly to dizzying conditions, they’re teaching their brain to get used to the feeling so its negative effects will be less severe—and they can snap out of it more quickly than the rest of us.

花样滑冰选手也并非拥有超人般的内耳液体；他们也会感到眩晕。他们的秘密就在于无止境的练习。新手会从慢慢旋转开始，先转一圈或二圈，然后逐渐增加旋转圈数。在离开冰面时，他们甚至还会穿上旋转背带进行练习，以适应旋转的感觉。通过使自己反复暴露于眩晕的条件下，他们也在训练自己的大脑来适应这种感觉，因此眩晕所带来的副作用也就不会那么明显-选手们会比其他人更快地调整过来。

Novice：新手，初学者

Skaters do have tricks to help them reorient themselves after rotations. Bradie Tennell, a member of 2018’s bronze medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, told TODAY that she tends to blink rapidly right after a spin. Other coaches advise their athletes to pick one spot to stare at as they stop turning.

滑冰选手掌握着可以帮助他们在旋转后重新调整身体的技巧。Bradie Tennell，2018年赢得银牌的美国奥运参赛队队员之一告诉TODAY，她会在旋转后快速眨眼。其他教练则建议运动员在停止旋转后选择一个点盯着看。

And just because a skater is used to shaking off dizziness doesn’t mean they’re completely immune. Tennell said if she spins even after just several days off, she’ll get dizzy. (But still probably less dizzy than you’d feel.)

拥有摆脱眩晕的习惯并不意味着滑冰选手能够完全对眩晕免疫。Tennell说，哪怕只是间隔几天后再旋转，她也会感到眩晕。（但眩晕的程度仍然可能要比你轻。）

原文来源：Mental Floss

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