Why don't ice skaters get dizzy?

Asked by: Colin Curran, Ireland

Dancers avoid dizziness when pirouetting by keeping their eyes locked on a fixed point and then whipping their head around quickly when they can’t twist their neck any further.

Ice skating spins are much too fast for this to be possible or safe, though. Instead it’s mainly a question of keeping the eyes horizontal, so the view only spins around one axis, and gradually training to overcome the dizziness through long practice.

Many figure skaters will incorporate a dance move at the end of a long spin that is designed to provide a breather while the dizziness passes.

Read more:

• How fast would Earth need to spin for humans to be thrown into space?
• Why do we feel dizzy when we spin?

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