Nervous about getting sick on a plane? The pre-flight plan

The plan, in order

Each step removes one thing that lowers your threshold for nausea, or one gap the dread grows in.

1. 1

   When you book

   Choose a window seat over the wing and set a check-in reminder so you keep it.

   The wing section moves least and gives your eyes a horizon.

   Calmest rows by airline
2. 2

   The day before

   Check the turbulence forecast for your route and pack headphones, water and something plain to eat.

   Knowing when the bumps are likely removes the surprise, which is half the dread.

   Turbulence forecast
3. 3

   The night before

   Sleep. Skip the big dinner and the drinks.

   Tiredness and alcohol both lower your threshold for nausea.

   What to eat before a trip
4. 4

   Two hours before

   Eat something light. Go easy on coffee.

   An empty stomach is worse than a fed one, and caffeine adds to the jitters.

   Eating before travel
5. 5

   10 to 30 minutes before boarding

   Headphones on, run Prepare Me, then a few minutes of slow breathing with a long exhale.

   This is the window Dizzout's Prepare Me mode is built for. You board having already done something.

   The breathing exercise
6. 6

   In the seat

   Vent open, screen away, eyes on the wing or closed, head on the headrest.

   Each of these removes one input your brain is arguing about.

   The turbulence plan
7. 7

   If it starts anyway

   Press play on Motion Sickness Relief and keep your eyes where they were. Tell the crew.

   Dizzout states relief in about 90 seconds. Two or three sessions may be needed on a rough flight.

   The 90-second protocol

Why the dread makes the nausea more likely

Fear and nausea run on overlapping wiring. Both are driven by the autonomic nervous system, the part that speeds your heart, cools your hands and slows your stomach when it decides something is wrong. A nervous flyer boards with that system already running. The first bump then lands on a body that is halfway to feeling sick.

The research backs the experience. In a full-motion cabin simulator study of 124 passengers, the group high in trait anxiety reported high inflight sickness from the start of the flight and stayed there, while people with only a history of motion sickness started low and climbed as the motion went on. On the Southern Ocean, among 239 passengers surveyed over four years, expecting to be ill was one of five factors linked to getting sick.

This is good news, not bad. The dread is a lever you can move. A plan you have rehearsed lowers the alarm before the aircraft moves, and that is worth more than any single trick in the seat.

Book the seat that moves least

The plane pivots around a point near the wings, so a seat over the wing rises and falls least in turbulence. A window seat gives you a horizon or a wing to watch, which lets your eyes confirm what your inner ear is feeling. Avoid the back third, which feels the tail swing. Our airline-by-airline guides show the calmest rows for each fleet, and the seat map explains the zones.

If you fly a route known for bumps, check the turbulence forecast the day before. Knowing when the bumpy stretch is likely to come, and that it usually passes within minutes, takes the surprise out of it.

What to do in the seat when it starts

Open the vent and point it at your face. Put the screen and the book away. Look at the wing or the horizon if you can see one, or close your eyes and rest your head against the headrest if you cannot. Breathe out for longer than you breathe in, and keep going for a few minutes. Tell the cabin crew you feel unwell; they do this every day and can bring water, ice and a bag without any fuss.

If you use Dizzout, this is where the Motion Sickness Relief mode comes in. Put your headphones on, press play, and keep your eyes where they were. Dizzout states relief in about 90 seconds. Two or three sessions may be needed on a rough flight.

If the fear is the flight itself

Some flyers dread the nausea. Others dread the flying, and the nausea is a symptom of that fear. The second group needs a different plan. The best-supported approaches for fear of flying are cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exposure, often delivered through airline or clinic courses, and a review of the treatment literature found these consistently more effective than reassurance alone. Our flight anxiety guide covers what helps and how to find it. Alcohol before boarding helps neither the fear nor the stomach.

Not sure which group you are in? The nerves or motion sickness checker asks six questions and tells you where to start.

Questions people ask