How not to get sick while watching 3D movies like ‘The Walk’

One of this weekend’s best new movies is also making people sick.

“The Walk,” about French daredevil Philippe Petit’s high-wire crossing between the World Trade Center towers in 1974, is proving too intense for some moviegoers.

After a festival screening in NYC, men were throwing up in the theater’s bathroom. Another patron, Percival Arguero-Mendoza, told the NY Post, “It felt very real. I felt a knot in my stomach. It’s like my head was reeling but I was not dizzy. … You really get a sense of depth.”

There are several reasons that people could be getting sick.

Vertigo is medical condition that describes a deficiency in the body’s motion-sensing system that sends mixed or insufficient signals to the brain, causing causes dizziness and nausea.

For those without inner-ear problems, the shots panning up the towers as well as looking down as Gordon-Levitt walks the wire can trigger the same mismatch in what the eyes see but the body doesn’t feel, like what happens in motion sickness.

Fear of heights and falling can trigger similar symptoms as well; seeing the film in 3D adds another complication because the eyes’ natural focal point is tricked to create the visual effects.

Instead of skipping the movie, try these tips to fight the light-headedness:

• Like dancers who have to spin around, it helps to pick a point and focus on it. If you’re feeling dizzy, look away from the screen toward an exit sign or the back of another person’s head.

• Pick a seat toward the middle or back of the theater. Having the screen directly in front of you instead of looking up is more comfortable for your eyes.

• If you feel unwell, don’t take off your 3D glasses! It’ll just confuse your eyes further. Instead, close your eyes and focus on your breath to calm down.

• Get your eyes checked — vision problems like uneven eyesight and astigmatism can make you more like to get headaches and feel sick during 3D movies.