Motion sickness affects people differently across age groups, travel settings and types of motion exposure. Available studies report rates from a few percent in specific flight symptoms to more than 70% in some maritime or spaceflight settings. The figures below are estimates from named studies and guidance documents, and their populations and measurement periods are not interchangeable.
Contents
- How common is motion sickness?
- Cruises, flights and metro travel
- Seafarers and naval personnel
- Sex differences
- Adaptation and symptom duration
- Spaceflight, virtual reality and simulators
How common is motion sickness?
Motion sickness is not limited to boats. It can follow movement in cars, aircraft, trains and ships, or arise when visual motion conflicts with signals from the inner ear and body. Because studies use different questions, exposures and definitions, a prevalence estimate from one setting should not be treated as a universal rate.
The 2022 consensus review from the Bárány Society estimates that 35%–43% of children before puberty experience motion sickness. The same review estimates that 25% of young adults experience it. Its age comparison also reports motion sickness as a frequent problem for 14% of adults younger than 30 years, compared with 7% of adults aged 61 years or older. These figures describe different measures within the review, so they are best read as age-specific estimates rather than a single age trend. (Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: Consensus Document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society, 2022 consensus review.)
Visually induced motion sickness has a particularly wide reported range. The same consensus review gives prevalence estimates from 1% to 60% to 80%–95%, depending on the visual stimulus and study conditions. This spread shows why a result from a virtual-reality experiment cannot automatically describe the experience of a car passenger or cruise traveler. (Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: Consensus Document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society, 2022 consensus review.)
Seasickness research summarized in a 2022 review describes up to 20% of people as more susceptible to motion sickness. A separate 2018 review summary says about two-thirds of travelers have experienced motion-sickness symptoms at least once in a car, especially in the back seat. About half of those car travelers who experienced symptoms have vomited. These are broad review summaries, not results from one common survey. (Seasickness among Icelandic seamen, 2022 review/article; The Neurophysiology and Treatment of Motion Sickness, 2018 review.)
Cruises, flights and metro travel
Cruise-ship figures vary with the outcome being counted. CDC guidance for cruise travel reports that seasickness affects up to 25% of cruise travelers and accounts for about 10% of diagnoses reported at cruise-ship medical centers. A retrospective study of historical cruise-ship medical logs found seasickness in 9.1% of new patient visits. The CDC estimate concerns travelers broadly, while the medical-log percentage concerns people who sought care, so the measures capture different parts of the experience. (Cruise Ship Travel, CDC Yellow Book 2026 edition, published 2025; Conveyance and Transportation Issues, historical cruise records, publication 2009.)
Short-haul flight research also shows that nausea, feeling ill and vomiting are not equivalent outcomes. In a study of UK turboprop flights published in 2001, 8.4% of passengers reported nausea during flight, 16.2% reported feeling ill, and 0.5% reported vomiting.
| Travel setting and outcome | Reported percentage | Measurement period or source context |
|---|---|---|
| Cruise travelers with seasickness | Up to 25% | CDC Yellow Book 2026 edition, published 2025 |
| Cruise-ship medical-center diagnoses attributed to seasickness | About 10% | CDC guidance, published 2025 |
| New cruise-ship patient visits involving seasickness | 9.1% | Historical records, publication 2009 |
| UK turboprop passengers reporting nausea | 8.4% | Study published 2001 |
| UK turboprop passengers reporting feeling ill | 16.2% | Study published 2001 |
| UK turboprop passengers reporting vomiting | 0.5% | Study published 2001 |
The flight results should not be interpreted as a general rate for all aircraft. They came from short-haul UK turboprop flights, and the categories overlap conceptually but measure different symptom thresholds. (Airsickness and aircraft motion during short-haul flights, study published 2001.)
A 2025 cross-sectional survey of 349 adults in Saudi Arabia measured symptoms associated with metro travel. Severe dizziness was reported by 23.5% of respondents. In the same survey, 8.0% reported nausea on the way to work and 4.9% reported dizziness on the way to work. The commute context matters: 64.5% used their phones during the commute, 85.4% used the metro more than three times per week, and 74.0% said they had experienced similar symptoms previously. These figures describe this survey population and should not be generalized to all metro systems. (Prevalence of Motion Sickness Among Saudi Residents: An Interview-Based Cross-Sectional Study, 2025 cross-sectional survey.)
Seafarers and naval personnel
Occupational exposure can produce much higher cumulative rates than occasional travel. A study of Icelandic seamen found that 87.8% had experienced seasickness at some time in their lives. The same Icelandic study reported that 80% had experienced seasickness while working onboard ship, and 79% experienced mal de débarquement after disembarking. In that study, 22% used over-the-counter medication for seasickness. The study’s measures refer to seamen with maritime work exposure, not holiday travelers. (Seasickness among Icelandic seamen, 2022 study and 2012 Icelandic seamen study.)
A study of 500 Indian naval personnel conducted from May 2019 through March 2020 separated symptom groups. Central vestibular symptoms were reported by 31.2%, gastrointestinal symptoms by 28.4%, sopite-syndrome symptoms by 23.2%, and peripheral autonomic symptoms by 17.2%. These categories can describe different manifestations in the same study population, so they should not be added together. (Assessment of Sea Sickness in Naval Personnel: Incidence and Management, May 2019–March 2020.)
The Indian naval study also classified severity and exposure history:
- 78.78% had minor, self-limited seasickness that did not require rest or medication.
- 19.31% had moderate seasickness requiring medication and 24 hours of rest.
- 1.91% had severe seasickness requiring medication and more than 24 hours of rest or duty exemption.
- 54.5% reported seasickness on their first sea exposure, 26.5% through fewer than 10 exposures, 13.6% after more than 10 exposures, and 5.4% on every exposure.
These severity percentages and exposure-history percentages use different classifications and are not an arithmetic breakdown of one single scale. The source reports them as study findings for Indian naval personnel during the stated period.
Sex differences
Some controlled experiments and surveys have reported sex differences, but their results depend on the stimulus and outcome. In a 2015 laboratory study using linear visual oscillation, motion sickness occurred in 38% of women and 9% of men. This was a specific visual-oscillation experiment, not a population-wide estimate. (Sex Differences in the Incidence of Motion Sickness Induced by Linear Visual Oscillation, 2015 study.)
The Saudi metro survey also reported a difference in severe dizziness: 32.1% of female respondents and 15.8% of male respondents reported this symptom. The survey was cross-sectional and based on 349 adult respondents, so the result describes that sample and setting rather than a universal sex ratio. (Prevalence of Motion Sickness Among Saudi Residents: An Interview-Based Cross-Sectional Study, 2025 cross-sectional survey.)
The comparison below places the two findings side by side while preserving their different designs.
| Study and exposure | Women or female respondents | Men or male respondents |
|---|---|---|
| Linear visual oscillation, motion sickness | 38% | 9% |
| Saudi metro survey, severe dizziness | 32.1% | 15.8% |
The two rows should not be combined: one is a laboratory visual-motion result from 2015, while the other is a symptom report from a 2025 Saudi metro survey.
Adaptation and symptom duration
Repeated exposure can change symptoms over time. During a 2011 Caribbean medical-service voyage, seasickness prevalence was 72.64% during the initial period. The same long-voyage study reported a 62.33% habituation rate overall, with habituation at 76.92% among male staff and 47.37% among female staff. These percentages describe one long-voyage study and its staff population, not every seafarer or traveler. (Habituation of seasickness in adult during a long voyage, 2011 Mission Harmony voyage.)
The Indian naval study states that seasickness symptoms generally disappeared completely within 24 hours after the triggering motion ceased. NASA reports that space-adaptation sickness commonly lasts 2–3 days, although it can last longer for some crew members. The difference illustrates why symptom duration depends on the type and persistence of motion exposure. (Assessment of Sea Sickness in Naval Personnel: Incidence and Management, May 2019–March 2020; Fundamentals of Human Health, current NASA technical brief, accessed 2026.)
Spaceflight, virtual reality and simulators
NASA reports space-adaptation sickness in up to 73% of crewmembers during the first 2–3 days of spaceflight. A NASA Spacelab report states that space motion sickness occurs in about 50% of astronauts and cosmonauts, can begin as early as 2 hours after launch, and usually disappears after 2–5 days in orbit. These are different NASA sources and periods: the Spacelab report is from 1998, while the NASA technical brief was accessed in 2026. (Fundamentals of Human Health, current NASA technical brief, accessed 2026; Final Science Report: Spacelab LMS Investigation E410, 1998 report.)
NASA’s sample Integrated Medical Model output assigns space motion sickness a likelihood of 4.37 events per mission. This is a model output expressed as events per mission, not a percentage of astronauts and not a direct count of observed cases. (Appendix E: Health and Medical Care Technical Requirements, NASA technical requirements, 2023 edition.)
Virtual-reality studies also report wide variation. Motion sickness was reported by 22% of participants in the first experiment using an Oculus Rift head-mounted display. In a 2022 study involving a 10-minute head-mounted-display immersion, approximately 65% experienced some cybersickness and approximately 24% experienced severe cybersickness. A review reported that 61% of 146 volunteers developed malaise during a 20-minute VR immersion experiment conducted in 1994. (The virtual reality head-mounted display Oculus Rift induces motion sickness and is sexist in its effects, 2017 study; Focusing on cybersickness: pervasiveness, latent trajectories, susceptibility, and effects on the virtual reality experience, 2022 study; The Neurophysiology and Treatment of Motion Sickness, 1994 experiment reported in 2018 review.)
Simulator exposure produces another set of estimates. In a 1990 army simulator questionnaire study, 69% of aircrew reported a history of simulator symptoms, 59.9% experienced at least one symptom during the study period, and 3.6% reported disequilibrium symptoms. These results concern army aircrew and simulator use, so they should not be used as a general estimate for consumer VR or ordinary travel. (Simulator sickness in an army simulator, 1990 study.)