Turn down the animations that make you dizzy on your Mac

Why it happens

macOS uses movement to show where things go: spaces slide sideways, windows zoom in and out, Mission Control swoops. For some people that movement brings on dizziness or motion sickness, and for others it just feels slow. Reduce motion replaces the large movements with quick fades.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Accessibility in the sidebar.

2. Click Motion, then turn on Reduce motion.

   Accessibility›Motion›Reduce motion

3. Try it: swipe between spaces or open Mission Control. You should now see a fade instead of a slide.

4. In the same Motion section, you can also turn off Auto-play animated images so moving pictures in Messages and Safari stay still until you click them.

   Accessibility›Motion›Auto-play animated images

Still not fixed?

1. If flashing video or strobing light bothers you, turn on Dim flashing lights in the same section.

   Accessibility›Motion›Dim flashing lights

2. Feel sick using your MacBook in a car or train? Turn on Vehicle Motion Cues. It shows dots at the screen edges that move with the vehicle. It's on Mac laptops only, and not on a MacBook Air with M1 or a 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 or older.

   Accessibility›Motion›Vehicle Motion Cues

3. Calm the Dock too. Turn off Animate opening applications so icons stop bouncing.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Animate opening applications

4. If see-through menus and glassy effects also bother you, turn on Reduce transparency.

   Accessibility›Display›Reduce transparency

5. If animations still feel too much, or a setting won't stay on, contact Apple Support. Their accessibility team can walk you through other options. This isn't a hardware problem.