A recent Chinese study revealed an unconventional and effective way to overcome motion sickness during travel, avoiding costly medications and methods, by listening to specific types of music.

The study, conducted at Southwest University in China, showed that listening to cheerful music reduces nausea and dizziness symptoms by 57.3%, followed by calm music at 56.7%. Emotional music reduced symptoms by 48.3%, while sad music was the least effective at 40%, even performing worse than no music at all (43.3%).

Dr. Kizong Yui, the lead researcher, explained that motion sickness affects millions worldwide and noted that music is a non-invasive, low-cost intervention that does not cause common drug side effects like drowsiness.

The experiment used a driving simulator to induce motion sickness in 30 participants, playing different types of music during the recovery phase. Researchers also observed changes in brain activity linked to symptom reduction, potentially opening doors for future innovations in tracking and treating motion sickness.

These findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, offer new prospects for the comfort of travelers by land, sea, and air, especially since one in five adults in the UK alone suffers from this problem while traveling.