While music can soothe your spirit, could it also help you avoid feeling queasy on the road?
A recent study suggests that the right music might actually alleviate motion sickness, though some tunes might just make you feel worse and reach for that barf bag.
This isn’t a minor issue—around one in three Americans is prone to car sickness, and really, nearly everyone experiences it at least once in their lives.
“Motion sickness can greatly affect many people’s travel experiences, and medications often cause drowsiness,” noted Dr. Qizong Yue from Southwest China University, a co-author of the study. He explained that “music offers a non-invasive, low-cost, personalized way to address this issue.”
However, a word of caution: the more you dislike the song, the more likely you are to feel ill.
In the study, Yue and his team enlisted 30 participants who were prone to motion sickness and connected them to a driving simulator that induced nausea.
Each participant donned a cap with 64 electrodes to track their brain waves during the trial.
They were divided into four groups, each exposed to different music genres for a minute. One group didn’t listen to any music and reported symptoms easing up on their own.
Bright music proved to be the most effective remedy, reducing symptoms significantly. Softer melodies helped by about 56.7%, while lively tunes alleviated symptoms by 48.3%.
In contrast, sadder songs didn’t perform well—this group only saw a 40% reduction, which was actually worse by 3.3% compared to the no-music group.
“Our findings suggest that those experiencing motion sickness can find relief through cheerful and soothing music,” Yue stated.
Brain activity data supported these conclusions, showing a decline in complex brain signals in the occipital lobe—a key area for vision processing—when participants felt unwell.
The healthier participants showed improved brain activity, indicating a significant relief.
Researchers theorized that gentle music may reduce tension and calm the mind, potentially relieving nausea and dizziness. Conversely, lively tracks might activate the brain’s reward pathways and divert attention from discomfort.
On the flip side, sad tunes could stir up negative feelings, potentially hindering recovery more than if no music had been played at all.
“The underlying theory of motion sickness applies broadly to various kinds of transportation,” Yue mentioned. “Thus, our findings might also apply to air and sea travel.”
Still, he stressed the need for further investigation to confirm whether music really eases travel discomfort.
“The main limitation here is the relatively small sample size,” Yue added.
Also, because they used a simulator instead of actual driving conditions, it might not fully represent how motion sickness and brain activity function in real-life scenarios.
Future studies will aim to include larger groups and real-world driving to see if the simulator results hold.
They’re also curious whether personal music preferences could influence which songs are most effective in combating motion sickness.
This isn’t a new area of research, though. Earlier this year, Japanese scientists introduced “sound spice,” a unique method using specially designed sound waves to stimulate the inner ear, helping mitigate nausea and dizziness.
“The sound levels used are within typical environmental noise exposure, suggesting this method is both effective and safe,” the lead researcher Kawakawa remarked.
