The researchers found that joyful music alleviated symptoms of carsickness by 14 percent compared to the group that meditated.<\/p>\n
Soft music was the next best genre. It alleviated symptoms by 13.4 percent compared to controls.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, one type of music reduced nausea at a rate worse than simply waiting for the feelings of carsickness to pass. Sad music seemed to make recovery harder.<\/p>\n
It’s difficult to say how significant these changes are, as the current experiments were based on a small sample size with limited statistical power.<\/p>\n That said, the results align with other studies<\/a> that have found music can be transformative \u2013 changing the way we feel, for better or worse.<\/p>\n Previous studies<\/a> have also shown that a favorite tune can reduce symptoms of visually induced motion sickness or ‘cybersickness<\/a>‘ from virtual reality devices. It might even help with hangovers<\/a>.<\/p>\n But while some research suggests<\/a> that sad music can improve mood and make us feel good, it’s possible that in some scenarios, it can have the opposite effect.<\/p>\n EEG data from the current trial suggests that motion sickness has a negative correlation with brain activity in the occipital region, which helps process visual information.<\/p>\n The more sick a participant said they felt, the less complex the activity in this part of the brain. The better they recovered, meanwhile, the more varied activity the EEG caps recorded.<\/p>\n “Sad music may exacerbate discomfort through emotional resonance,” the authors hypothesize<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whereas cheerful or relaxing music may help participants maintain a good physical state, “thus enhancing the comfort of the occupants.”<\/p>\n It’s worth a try.<\/p>\n![\"Motion](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/fnhum-19-1636109-g001-642x331.jpg\")
The motion sickness experiment, which simulated a nauseating drive. (Li et al., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience<\/a>, 2025)<\/p>\n