Asked by: Matt Pattinson, Devon
When you move your head, the acceleration is detected by hairs lining the side of fluid-filled tubes in your inner ear. If you spin for long enough, the brain gets desensitised to the constant turn signals from your ear, and adjusts to zero them out.
When you stop, the ears correctly report zero turning, but your brain is still actively cancelling this out and so it thinks you are now spinning in the opposite direction.
Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.
Latest
Science Focus Podcast Is there really no such thing as a fish?
