Under ordinary circumstances, I would open an article like this with a broad and dramatic claim—something along the lines of, “Everyone knows the misery of motion sickness.” Yet upon closer reflection, that kind of statement is actually misleading. The truth is that a considerable portion of the population moves comfortably through all sorts of travel scenarios—whether that involves scrolling through text messages on a bumpy bus ride, reading novels on trains, or even working on laptops in the back seat of a car—without experiencing the slightest wave of queasiness. These individuals often remain blissfully unaware of how debilitating motion sickness can be. For the rest of us, however—those of us who are unfortunate chronic sufferers—the experience is nothing less than dreadful, disruptive, and, at times, incapacitating.
To make matters worse, the pharmaceutical options traditionally recommended for alleviating motion sickness often come with their own clear drawbacks. Many of these medications are notorious for inducing significant drowsiness. While such sedation might be appreciated on an overnight flight when rest is both possible and perhaps even desirable, it proves remarkably inconvenient in other situations, such as during a long-awaited vacation road trip filled with conversation, scenic views, or lively camaraderie. Because of these limitations, researchers have increasingly begun to explore alternative methods of relief. One of the more intriguing avenues of investigation lies in the therapeutic potential of music—an option that is inexpensive, accessible, non-invasive, and, importantly, does not interfere with one’s alertness.
As Qizong Yue, a researcher at Southwest University in China, explained in a recent statement, motion sickness represents a major barrier to enjoyable travel for countless individuals around the world, and current pharmacological treatments, though effective in certain respects, frequently result in unwanted side effects. Music, by contrast, offers a more natural and personalized approach, capable of being tailored to individual tastes and circumstances while avoiding chemical intervention.
To investigate this possibility, Yue and colleagues designed a controlled experiment, the results of which were recently published in *Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.* The researchers placed volunteers in a simulated driving environment deliberately engineered to provoke feelings of motion-induced nausea. For many, simply imagining such conditions would be enough to feel uneasy; I can attest that one would need considerable incentive to willingly endure such a test. Once the uncomfortable symptoms set in, participants were exposed to different genres of music, allowing the scientists to systematically observe whether certain types of melodies could accelerate recovery. The data revealed that soft music and joyful, uplifting tunes were particularly effective at reducing symptoms. Somewhat surprisingly, even sad or melancholic music—often assumed to provide emotional resonance—was counterproductive, proving less effective than silence itself.
The structure of the study involved thirty participants, all of whom had previously reported at least moderate susceptibility to carsickness. These individuals were divided into six distinct groups. Four groups were exposed to various styles of music while recovering from artificially induced nausea, one group spent recovery time in silence, and a final control group experienced a simulated ride that ended before sickness could take hold. All participants wore electroencephalogram (EEG) caps throughout the experiment—devices designed to capture subtle electrical activity in the brain. This allowed researchers to compare the neural activity of participants who experienced pronounced motion sickness with those who did not.
The process unfolded as follows: each participant first sat quietly in the simulator while their baseline EEG data was recorded. Next, they engaged in the driving tasks that reliably triggered feelings of sickness, reporting the intensity of their nausea throughout. During the recovery phase, some participants listened to music for 60 seconds, while others did not. After this brief recovery period, all were asked to evaluate their remaining symptoms. The results were telling: those who heard joyful music reported a striking 57.3% reduction in carsickness, with soft music close behind at 56.7%. Even passionate, dramatic music demonstrated effectiveness at nearly 48.3%. In contrast, silence alone reduced symptoms by 43.3%, while sad music lagged further, producing only a 40% improvement.
The researchers hypothesize that these outcomes may be explained by the distinct psychological and physiological effects of music. Gentle, soothing tracks might alleviate the bodily tension that intensifies nausea, helping muscles and the nervous system relax rather than exacerbate discomfort. Joyful music, meanwhile, may engage the brain’s natural reward pathways, encouraging distraction and shifting focus away from negative physical sensations. Conversely, sorrowful melodies, though emotionally powerful, may reinforce negative feelings, thereby amplifying the general sense of unease and prolonging discomfort.
The EEG data added another layer of insight. It revealed that during periods of acute motion sickness, participants exhibited noticeably reduced complexity of brain activity within the occipital lobe—a region associated with visual processing. As recovery progressed, neural activity in this area gradually returned to more dynamic and typical patterns, suggesting that changes in brain function directly mirror the physical sensations of sickness and improvement.
Summarizing the team’s findings, Yue emphasized that individuals experiencing motion sickness can potentially mitigate their discomfort simply by listening to cheerful or calming music. He further suggested that the theoretical principles underlying motion sickness apply broadly, regardless of whether the sickness is triggered by cars, airplanes, or boats. Thus, the insights gained here are likely applicable to a wide variety of real-world travel scenarios. Nevertheless, Yue also acknowledged the study’s fundamental limitations, particularly its small sample size and the artificial conditions of a simulator, which cannot perfectly replicate the complexity of actual environments. Broader studies with more participants will be necessary in order to confirm both the neural patterns associated with carsickness and the therapeutic potential of musical intervention.
Looking toward the future, the research team intends to explore not only different types of motion sickness but also the role of individual musical preferences in shaping recovery. For those of us who have long argued—sometimes to skeptical family members—that singing along at full volume to beloved songs genuinely alleviates motion sickness, this line of investigation presents an especially exciting possibility. Perhaps in time, scientific evidence will confirm once and for all that belting out lyrics on winding roads is not a mere quirk, but an actual coping mechanism—one firmly grounded in neuroscience and supported by empirical research.
Sourse: https://gizmodo.com/motion-sickness-sufferers-rejoice-scientists-say-this-might-actually-help-2000651372
