The question
Can anxiety cause motion sickness?
Yes, in two ways. Anxiety makes motion sickness more likely and makes it start sooner, because fear and nausea share the body's alarm system. And anxiety can cause nausea on its own, with no motion at all, which is why some people feel sick at the gate and fine once airborne. The reverse is also true: a history of being sick creates anxiety about the next trip. Breaking the loop means working on both sides.
Prone to motion sickness? Drug-free sound therapy through any headphones: Prepare Me for the 10 to 30 minutes before, Motion Sickness Relief for once it starts.Starts in your browser · works with any headphones
Get your personalized Dizzout plan. Paid subscription for full access.
On your phone? Scan to start there.
Key facts
- In a cabin-simulator study of 124 passengers, high trait anxiety produced high motion sickness from the start of the flight, while a motion sickness history alone produced a slow rise.
- In a survey of 239 Southern Ocean passengers, expecting to be ill and anxiety mid-trip were both linked to getting seasick.
- Anxiety slows digestion and increases stomach acid, which is nausea with no motion involved.
- Each bad trip teaches the body to brace for the next one, which is how the loop builds.
- A rehearsed plan and a sound session before the motion starts work on the fear side and the nausea side at once.
What two passenger studies found
In a full-motion cabin simulator, researchers monitored 124 passengers through a short-haul flight with four segments. People high in trait anxiety reported high inflight anxiety and a constantly high level of motion sickness, from the first segment. People with only a history of motion sickness started low and got worse as the flight went on. The authors concluded that anxiety and susceptibility interact and shape how sickness develops over a trip.
On the Southern Ocean, 239 passengers travelling between Tasmania and Antarctic stations were surveyed over four years. Despite low intrinsic susceptibility on the standard questionnaire, 94 reported at least one symptom and 38 vomited. Five factors were associated with getting sick: susceptibility, expecting to be ill, younger age, anxiety mid-trip, and distance of the cabin from the ship's centre of gravity.
Breaking the loop
Work on the fear side with things that lower the body's alarm before the trip: a plan you have rehearsed, slow breathing with a long exhale, enough sleep, less caffeine. Work on the nausea side with things that lower the mismatch: the seat that moves least, eyes on the horizon, screen away, cool air, and sound therapy. Do both before you board rather than after it starts. The before-you-go routine puts them in order.
If the anxiety is bigger than travel, or a fear of being sick is shaping your life, see the emetophobia page and talk to a doctor or therapist.
Work on the nausea side 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 a trip you expect to be rough, 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
Questions people ask
Can motion sickness cause anxiety?
Yes. One bad crossing or flight is enough to make the next one frightening, and that fear then makes the next trip more likely to go badly. This is the loop most people who dread travel are caught in. It loosens with trips that go well, which is what a plan is for.
Can anxiety make motion sickness worse?
Yes. In a 124-passenger simulator study, anxious passengers reported high motion sickness from the start of the flight. In a 239-passenger sea survey, anxiety mid-trip was linked to getting sick. Anxiety primes the body system that produces nausea, so the same motion lands harder.
Is motion sickness caused by anxiety in children?
Children get motion sick mostly because of how their senses develop, not because of anxiety, but a child who has been sick a few times learns to dread the car and that dread brings the nausea on sooner. The kids page covers this and starts with talking to your pediatrician.
Related
Sources
None of these studies tested Dizzout. They are the general research on anxiety, expectation and breathing.
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 if symptoms are severe or persistent, and to a doctor or therapist if fear is stopping you from travelling.