Study Reveals Music Can Help Overcome Drunk Travel

Illustration of listening to music helps overcome getting drunk. (Pexs/Kettut S)

JAKARTA - Drunk travel is experienced by many people when traveling by means of land, sea, and air transportation modes. This condition often makes it difficult and disrupts travel, so it must be overcome.

Quoting from Travel+Leisure, on Thursday, October 23, 2025, the latest study revealed that music can help overcome motional drinking. The research was carried out by a team from the Henan Institute of Science and Technology, China, which researched the influence of music on getting drunk on travel, as well as the most effective types of music to deal with.

The study involved 30 participants who participated in simulations of driving experience. During the simulation, their brain activation was monitored using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to detect when symptoms of motional motion arose.

The data is then used to build a computer model that is able to recognize when a person is drunk. After the model proved accurate, the research team began testing the effects of four cheerful, sad, encouraging, and gentle types of music.

Then the group is compared to groups that don't listen to music at all. The result is quite surprising, soft music has proven to be able to reduce the symptoms of drunk travel by 56.7 percent, while the cheerful season is slightly superior with an effectiveness of 57.3 percent.

"Travel bending significantly disrupts travel experience for many people and existing pharmacological interventions often have side effects such as drowsiness," explained study lead researcher Dr. Qizong Yue.

"Music is a non-invasive, low-cost, and personal intervention strategy," he added.

On the other hand, sad music has a worse impact than groups that don't listen to music at all. Thus, melancholic or sad songs should be avoided on the way, and choose cheerful or gentle music to help overcome getting drunk.

"The discomfort reduction effect of sad music is lower than the control group," the researchers added in their report.

"Based on our conclusions, individuals who experience symptoms of getting drunk during the trip can listen to cheerful or gentle music to defuse it," concluded Doctor Yue.