Can Music Help Alleviate Motion Sickness?
Typically, I’d kick off something like this by saying, “Everyone knows how awful motion sickness feels.” But, honestly, that’s not exact—some folks can read or text while on the go without any queasiness. If you’re one of those lucky ones, you’ll just have to take my word for it as someone who struggles with motion sickness: it really is the worst.
On top of that, many medications meant to combat motion sickness often have a pesky side effect: drowsiness. That can be useful for a long flight, sure, but it’s not exactly ideal for a fun road trip. So, researchers have been exploring whether music might play a role in helping people recover from feeling carsick, and their findings are pretty intriguing.
“Motion sickness significantly impairs the travel experience for many individuals, and existing pharmacological interventions often carry side effects such as drowsiness,” said Qizong Yue, a researcher at Southwest University in China. “Music represents a non-invasive, low-cost, and personalized intervention strategy.”
The Study on Carsickness
In a new study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Yue and their team induced motion sickness in participants using a driving simulator (which, personally, I’d rather skip) and then played various types of music to see how they fared. They found that soft and upbeat music provided the most relief. Interestingly, even sad music seemed to do worse than no music at all.
The team worked with 30 participants who reported moderate motion sickness. They split the group into six: four listened to music while recovering, one group didn’t, and one had their simulations stop before they got carsick.
Everyone wore EEG hats to monitor brain activity. They aimed to identify brain signals indicative of motion sickness by comparing the first five groups’ activity to that of the sixth group, which didn’t even experience carsickness (okay, maybe I’d think about being part of that group).
Initially, they measured each participant’s EEG signals while they sat still. Then, they took part in a driving task and reported their level of nausea. Afterward, some participants listened to music for 60 seconds.
When asked about their carsickness afterward, participants reported that joyful music reduced feelings of nausea by 57.3%, while soft music cut it by 56.7% and passionate tunes by 48.3%. Those who didn’t listen to music felt 43.3% less nauseated after the minute, but those who heard sad music reported only a 40% decrease.
The researchers theorize that soft music could ease tension that exacerbates motion sickness, while joyful music might serve as a distraction by activating certain brain reward systems. Sad music, on the other hand, could heighten negative emotions, making someone feel worse overall.
Brain Activity and Motion Sickness
What’s interesting is that the EEG data showed distinct changes in brain activity within the occipital lobe when participants felt nauseous. Specifically, their brain activity became less complex during those moments of significant nausea, but as they began to recover, that activity gradually returned to normal.
“Based on our conclusions, individuals experiencing motion sickness can listen to cheerful or gentle music for relief,” Yue shared. “The theoretical frameworks for motion sickness apply broadly to various types of travel, so these findings could extend to air or sea travel.”
However, “the primary limitation of this study is its relatively small sample size,” Yue acknowledged. “This results in limited statistical power.” Furthermore, how our brains respond to simulations may differ from how they react in real-life situations, so additional research with larger groups is essential to confirm these patterns and continue exploring the role of music.
Looking ahead, the team plans to investigate different kinds of motion sickness and how musical preferences might factor in. And by the way, if any researchers are reading this, I’d like to throw in my two cents about the anecdotal evidence suggesting that singing might help ward off or alleviate motion sickness. It would finally validate my claim to my family that I absolutely need to sing all the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s songs on those twisty roads.
