You’ve probably heard that music has charms to soothe a savage breast. But did you know it has charms to soothe an upset stomach?
A recent scientific study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that certain types of music can “effectively alleviate motion sickness symptoms” by up to 57%.
But the findings have better news for fans of Sabrina Carpenter than Elliott Smith: Joyful music brings the most relief, while sad songs are slightly less effective than listening to nothing.
For the study, a team of researchers devised an experiment/torture session during which volunteers susceptible to carsickness were subjected to a driving simulator designed to make them want to hurl. Participants wore electroencephalogram (EEG) caps to measure signs of motion sickness via brain activity.
Once they had everybody good and nauseated, scientists split their subjects into groups and had them listen to different types of music: happy, sad, stirring, and soft. There was also a control group left to suffer in silence.
The results: Quantifiable motion sickness indicators measured by the EEG went down by 57.3% for participants listening to “joyful” tunes, while soft, gentle music improved things by 56.7%.
“Passionate” music, meanwhile, reduced carsickness by 48.3%, the research found. And listening to sad songs, with a reduction in nausea of 40%, was slightly less helpful than doing nothing at all (43.3%).
Why does music affect motion sickness?
“It’s possible that soft music relaxes people, relieving tension which exacerbates carsickness, while joyful music might distract people by activating brain reward systems,” the researchers explained in a statement. “Sad music could have the opposite effect, by amplifying negative emotions and increasing overall discomfort.”
What’s more, the findings don’t just apply to carsickness, according to one of the co-authors, Dr. Qizong Yue of China’s Southwest University.
“The primary theoretical frameworks for motion sickness genesis apply broadly to sickness induced by various vehicles,” Yue said in the statement. “Therefore, the findings of this study likely extend to motion sickness experienced during air or sea travel.”
Okay, but we have some questions.
As any radio station programmer will tell you, the boundaries of genre are fuzzy. The soft music recommended by the scientists can easily slide into sad territory—just look at the work of Norah Jones.
And cheerful is best, but stirring is less effective—so does that mean we should steer clear of most Broadway cast recordings when making our road trip playlists?
Maybe that’s what the scientists mean when they say further research is needed into the “role played by personal musical taste.”
They’d also like to try out their sound cure on a larger sample size and under real-world conditions rather than in a simulator.
Even so, the study makes a compelling case for confining your Adele cry-alongs to moments when you’re not actually on a boat that’s rolling in the deep.
Related: How to Avoid Seasickness on a Cruise
