The stress of flying, sailing or riding is, for most people who get motion sick, the dread of being sick again. That dread is not a character flaw. Expecting to be ill makes being ill more likely, and a rough trip teaches the body to brace for the next one. The way out is a plan you have before you board: where to sit, what to eat, how to breathe, and a sound session 10 to 30 minutes before the motion starts. These pages give you that plan for each kind of trip.
The loop, and where the plan cuts in
Fear and nausea run on the same body system. A traveller who expects to be sick boards with that system half-triggered, so the first bump lands on a primed body, and the nausea that follows teaches the body to brace harder next time. In a survey of 239 Southern Ocean passengers, expecting to be ill was one of five factors linked to getting sick. In a cabin-simulator study of 124 passengers, anxious people felt sick from the first minutes of the flight.
The plan cuts in before the motion. That is the whole idea of this cluster, and the reason the sound session on these pages comes 10 to 30 minutes before boarding rather than after the nausea starts.
Key facts
- In a survey of 239 passengers on Southern Ocean voyages, expecting to be ill was one of five factors linked to getting seasick.
- In a cabin-simulator study of 124 passengers, people high in trait anxiety felt sick from the start of the flight, while people with only a motion sickness history got worse over time.
- Dizzout's Prepare Me mode is the same sound session in a quicker form, for the 10 to 30 minutes before a trip you expect to be rough.
- Dizzout's Trip Planner lets you schedule a trip, syncs it with your calendar and reminds you when to listen before it.
- Slow breathing with a long exhale has lengthened how long people tolerate nauseating motion in small controlled studies.
Your plan, by kind of trip
Each one is a timeline from the night before to the first ten minutes, written for the person who expects to be sick.
Flying
Nervous about getting sick on a plane? The pre-flight plan
The flyer who dreads the bag in seat 23C more than the flight
Boats and cruises
Scared of getting seasick on your first cruise or ferry? Here is the plan
The first-timer who is sure they will be sick the whole week
The car
Dreading the drive? The passenger's plan for car sickness nerves
The passenger who feels queasy while the car is still in the driveway
Trains and buses
Nervous about feeling sick on the train or bus? The commuter's plan
The commuter who dreads the coach and the backwards seat
The routine
One before-you-go routine for any trip
1. 48 hours
Seat or cabin that moves least. Look up the route.
2. Night before
Sleep. Modest dinner. No alcohol.
3. 2 hours
Something light and plain. Water, not coffee.
4. 10 to 30 minutes
Headphones on. Run Prepare Me. Slow breathing.
5. Boarding
Vent, eyes up and out, screen away, audio on.
Dizzout's Trip Planner lets you schedule a trip, syncs it with your calendar and reminds you when to listen before it.
Before, and during: the two modes
Before the trip
Prepare Me
Dizzout's Prepare Me mode is the same sound session in a quicker form, for the 10 to 30 minutes before a trip you expect to be rough.
Once it starts
Motion Sickness Relief
Dizzout's Motion Sickness Relief mode is for once the nausea has started, with relief in about 90 seconds.
Dizzout is a motion sickness app, for passengers, not an anxiety app. It changes what you can do about the nausea. The fear side has its own plan on the pages below, and a doctor or therapist when it is bigger than travel.
What are you dreading?
Type a trip or a worry: ferry, turbulence, the drive, panic, kids.
21 pages. Type a name or pick a filter.
The questions, answered one per page
Is it nerves or motion sickness?
Fighting flight stress and anxiety
How to calm down, by vehicle
Tools for before you go
Nerves or motion sickness?
Six questions, three honest answers, and the page to read next.
The breathing pacer
In for four, out for six. Press start and follow the circle.
Your trip plan
A dated checklist with the Prepare Me step and a calendar reminder.
Will this trip make me sick?
Your risk for a specific trip, from your history and its conditions.
Have a plan before you board
Stop Motion Sickness Now
Dizzout is drug-free sound therapy through any headphones. Prepare Me is for the 10 to 30 minutes before the trip, and Motion Sickness Relief is for once it starts, with relief in about 90 seconds. Free to download.
Get your personalized Dizzout plan. Paid subscription for full access.
30,000+ travelers in 30+ countries · How we count
On your phone? Scan to start there.
Comparing apps first? See how the motion sickness apps compare
In the first person
Eight pieces written the way people describe it to each other on the forums, each ending in the plan.
- I'm terrified of getting seasick on my first cruise. Here is the plan.
- I throw up before flights, not during. What is going on?
- The night before a ferry crossing when you know you'll be sick
- What a nervous flyer should do in the 30 minutes before boarding
- Why I dread the drive more than the drive deserves
- Turbulence does not make you sick. Expecting it might.
- The first trip after a bad one
- Listen before the trip: what Prepare Me is for
Questions people ask
Is travel anxiety the same as motion sickness?
No, but they overlap. Travel anxiety is fear about the trip: the flight, the crowd, the loss of control. Motion sickness is a body response to movement your eyes cannot confirm. Many people have both, and each makes the other worse. If your fear is mostly fear of being sick, the plan on these pages is written for you.
Can Dizzout help with anxiety?
Dizzout is a motion sickness app, not an anxiety app. It plays drug-free sound therapy through any headphones, with relief in about 90 seconds. What it changes about the dread is this: you have something to do before the trip and something to do if the nausea starts, instead of waiting and hoping. Fear of flying or a phobia of vomiting needs its own plan, and a doctor or therapist is the right place to start.
When should I listen before a trip?
Dizzout's Prepare Me mode is for the 10 to 30 minutes before the part of the trip you expect to be rough: before boarding, before the ferry leaves the harbour, before the winding road. The Trip Planner can remind you at the right time.
Sources
None of these studies tested Dizzout. They are the general research on anxiety, expectation and breathing.
- Besnard et al., 2021: Motion sickness lessons from the Southern Ocean, 239 passengers (Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance)
- Stelling et al., 2021: trait anxiety and the temporal progression of motion sickness in 124 cabin-simulator passengers (Ergonomics)
- Yen Pik Sang et al., 2003: music and controlled breathing against motion sickness (Journal of Travel Medicine)
- Russell et al., 2014: controlled diaphragmatic breathing for motion sickness in a virtual reality environment (Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback)
This content is for general information only and is not medical advice. Dizzout is a wellness app for motion sickness and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, including anxiety. Speak to a doctor or therapist if fear is stopping you from travelling.