The Steady Program: 14 days to steadier travel
The CDC describes habituation as the most effective countermeasure there is, more so than any medication. The catch has always been that habituation is a schedule, not a trick: short exposures, close together, each one only slightly harder than the last. This program is that schedule, cut into 14 days of three to six minutes. It is free, it runs in your browser, and it keeps no account.
Key facts
- The Steady Program is a free 14-day habituation plan for motion sickness: eleven short sessions and three reading days.
- Each day takes three to six minutes on the page; the real-world exposure happens on a journey you were already taking, as a passenger.
- The CDC describes habituation, repeated graded exposure, as the most effective motion sickness countermeasure available, more so than any medication.
- Exposures more than about a week apart barely build on each other, which is why the program runs daily rather than weekly.
- Progress is stored in the browser only. There is no account, and nothing about your symptoms is sent anywhere.
What two weeks can and cannot do
Two weeks is the habit, not the finish. Supervised desensitization programs run for several weeks and are delivered by clinicians; this adapts the same published principles into a routine you can run on ordinary travel. What two weeks is good for is the part people usually get wrong: the spacing. Exposures more than about a week apart barely build on each other, so a daily rhythm is what makes the weeks after this one worth anything.
Nothing here is a treatment, and nothing here promises an outcome. If you want the full evidence first, including the brain training result that failed to replicate, read how habituation training works.
Before you start. This is practice for later journeys, not first aid: if you feel sick right now, use the 60-second relief steps instead. Never train as the driver, and never push through severe symptoms. If you are pregnant, or setting this up for a child, talk to your doctor first: this program is not written for either case, and pregnancy and children have their own guides. Dizziness or vertigo at rest, without motion, is not motion sickness and belongs with a doctor rather than a training plan.
Your progress
Day 1 of 14 is open
Saved in this browser only.
The 14 days
Day 1 · 4 minutes here · Session
Set your starting level
Pick the step you can already finish without feeling rough.
- Open the trainer below and read the eight levels.
- Pick the one you could do today and finish comfortably. Not the hardest one you could survive.
- Do not log anything yet. Today is the plan, not the ride.
Not for right now. Habituation is practice for later, not first aid. If you feel sick as you read this, stop and go to the 60-second relief steps instead, and pick this up on a day you feel well.
Day 2 · 5 minutes here · Session
Learn the breathing pace
Six breaths a minute, sitting still, so it is automatic later.
- Sit somewhere still. No moving vehicle today.
- Run the pacer for about five minutes: in for 4 seconds, out for 6.
- Stop if you feel light headed. That means you are breathing too deeply, not too slowly.
Day 2 opens once day 1 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 3 · 4 minutes here · Session
Your first graded ride
One real journey at the level you picked on day 1.
- Use a journey you were taking anyway. Never train as the driver.
- Stay at your level for the whole ride, and stop before symptoms get strong.
- Afterwards, log the ride and your rating in the trainer below.
Day 3 opens once day 2 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 4 · 5 minutes here · Reading day
Reading day: where to sit
No session today. One guide, five minutes.
- Seat position changes the physics of a ride more than most remedies do.
- Read the seat guide, then decide where you will sit for the next three sessions.
Day 4 opens once day 3 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 5 · 5 minutes here · Session
Breathe with noise around you
The same pace, with something competing for your attention.
- Run the pacer somewhere less calm: music on, television on, people talking.
- Keep the exhale longer than the inhale the whole way through.
- The point is that the pace holds when conditions are not quiet. A car is not quiet.
Day 5 opens once day 4 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 6 · 4 minutes here · Session
Same level, second ride
Repeating one level is where habituation actually happens.
- Same level as day 3. Repeating is the mechanism, not a delay.
- Breathe at your pace for the first two minutes of the ride.
- Log it. Expect the rating to be the same or slightly lower.
Day 6 opens once day 5 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 7 · 4 minutes here · Session
Breathing with your eyes closed
Take the visual cue away and keep the rhythm.
- Start the pacer, close your eyes, and follow the spoken cue instead of the circle.
- This is the version you will use in the back of a car, where a screen is the last thing you want.
Day 7 opens once day 6 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 8 · 6 minutes here · Reading day
Reading day: what actually works
No session today. Read what the evidence supports, and what it does not.
- Habituation is the long game. These are the measures that help on the day itself.
- Pick one you will add to your next ride.
Day 8 opens once day 7 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 9 · 4 minutes here · Session
Step up, if you have earned it
Move up only when the last rides were genuinely comfortable.
- The trainer moves your level for you when you log a rating of 3 or below.
- If the last rides were rough, stay where you are. There is no prize for rushing.
- Ride, then log it.
Day 9 opens once day 8 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 10 · 4 minutes here · Session
Breathe before, not after
This one works better as preparation than as rescue.
- Run the pacer for about four minutes before your next journey, not during it.
- In the trial behind this exercise, slow breathing delayed the onset of nausea. Starting early is the point.
Day 10 opens once day 9 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 11 · 4 minutes here · Session
Hold the level
One more ride at the step you are on.
- Same level as day 9, and the same route if you can manage it.
- Log it. Ratings drifting down at one level is what progress looks like.
Day 11 opens once day 10 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 12 · 6 minutes here · Reading day
Reading day: why this works
No session today. The evidence behind these two weeks.
- Exposures more than about a week apart barely build on each other. That is why this program runs daily.
- Read the full account, including the brain training result that did not replicate.
Day 12 opens once day 11 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 13 · 5 minutes here · Session
The hardest step you can hold
One session at your current level, full length.
- Do the full duration the trainer gives for your level.
- Stop early if it gets strong. Stopping is part of the protocol, not a failure.
- Log it.
Day 13 opens once day 12 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Day 14 · 5 minutes here · Session
Last session, and what comes after
Finish the two weeks, then set a pace you can keep.
- One more ride at your level. Log it.
- Habituation fades without exposure, so plan roughly one session a week from here.
- Mark day 14 done to finish the program.
Day 14 opens once day 13 is marked done. The plan above is here to read whenever you like. Day 1 is the one waiting for you.
Traveling before the two weeks are up?
Stop the nausea
Habituation pays off on later journeys, so it leaves a gap: the trips you take while it is still building. Dizzout plays drug-free sound therapy through any headphones and is designed to help once symptoms have already started. Use it to get through the ride, then log the ride here.
On a computer? Dizzout installs on your phone. Scan the code, or open dizzout.com/get on your phone and it'll take you straight to the right store.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Steady Program?+
Fourteen daily sessions that run the habituation protocol for you: a few minutes on this page each day, plus a short real-world exposure on journeys you were already taking. It uses the graded exposure trainer and the breathing pacer that already exist on the Dizzout training page, sequenced so that each day has one specific thing to do. It is free, needs no account, and progress is stored only in your browser.
Does 14 days of habituation training work?+
Fourteen days is a start, not a full course. The CDC describes habituation, repeated graded exposure, as the most effective countermeasure available, more so than any medication, and supervised military desensitization programs run for several weeks. What two weeks reliably builds is the habit and the spacing: exposures more than about a week apart barely build on each other, so daily sessions are what make the later weeks pay off.
How long is each day of the program?+
Three to six minutes on this page. On the days that call for a real ride, the exposure happens on a journey you were taking anyway, at a level you choose, so the program asks for the minutes here and none of your time beyond them.
What happens if I miss a day?+
Nothing is lost and nothing resets. The next day stays open, and you pick it up whenever you come back. If the gap runs longer than about a week, drop back a level when you restart, because the earlier rides count for less by then. That is the protocol's own rule, not a penalty.
Is habituation training safe to do on my own?+
The version here stays below the level that makes you properly sick, uses ordinary travel as the exposure, and never asks you to train as the driver. Never push through severe symptoms. Dizziness or vertigo at rest, without motion, is not motion sickness: see a doctor rather than training. The same goes for hearing loss, ringing in one ear, double vision or fainting.
Do I need the app to do the program?+
No. Every day of the program runs in the browser and costs nothing. Dizzout is a separate drug-free option for the journeys you take while the training is still building.
Keep going
Dizzout is not a medical provider and this is not medical advice. Supervised desensitization programs are delivered by clinicians and aviation medicine specialists; this page adapts the same published principles into a self-guided routine using ordinary travel, and the results reported for supervised programs will not transfer directly to self-training. Talk to a doctor before starting if you have any inner-ear or balance condition, are pregnant, or are planning this for a child.