The influence of music on mood and performance while driving
The vast majority of us listen to music while car driving, without even thinking about how it affects the driver’s behavior. A song on the car radio can be incredibly powerful: it can make us cry, bring back memories, or even make us experience incredible joy. Music also stimulates the motor centers: the more active the music, the more difficult it’s to keep the body still. How does it work? What happens in our body and brain when we hear certain songs?
Our Brain
Fast-paced chase, fast music, and your pulse are suddenly quickening. Have you ever experienced it? The right music in the car can affect our emotions very quickly. Music on the radio makes us happy, sometimes very emotional, but it always does something for us. Doctors and therapists have long recognized the power of sound, and music is used as a form of therapy to relieve pain, evoke memories, and enable communication. The brain and body respond to sounds and melodies, we are in a good mood, stress levels are reduced, and relaxation is increased. One thing is clear: music moves us. On the road, we often turn on music in the car to pass the time, which allows us to comfortably spend time behind the wheel. However, how does listening to music while driving affect whether our attention is dulled and whether this negatively affects driving safety? You can read more in the forum: listening to music in the car.
More and more research shows that music has a positive effect on our emotional and physical well-being. For example, when listening to music, scientists have found an increase in the antibody numbers and cells that protect us from bacteria. The use of music has also achieved positive results in the treatment of diseases ranging from depression and insomnia to ADHD and schizophrenic, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and strokes. Music always sets in motion internal processes. What feelings are evoked, and what thoughts are associated with them vary greatly from person to person?
Many drivers who like to listen to loud music in the car, in addition to music speakers, install subwoofers in their cars. A subwoofer is a low-frequency sound emitter that reproduces low-frequency sounds such as bass. When it is installed on a car, the sound becomes somewhat louder and the playback quality improves.
Additional Subwoofers
Nowadays, various expansion modules and tuning services are very popular, which offer the installation of high-quality audio systems in cars. You can choose how to connect additional subwoofers and other components, or complete replacement of speakers, head unit and other elements that are responsible for the sound quality in the car. Different competitions are even held for the quality of sound in a car, and the audio systems themselves in cars have become the real pride of their owners. It’s simply impossible to imagine a car without a radio installed in it. Many motorists tune the music in the car by installing additional speakers, amplifiers, subwoofers, and other components. You can find more information here: best speakers for Jeep Wrangler sound bar.
The music’s influence on the psycho-emotional state of the driver is enormous, and it has been proven by many scientific studies. Optimally selected musical accompaniment can be useful, and excessive music can be harmful, distracting from the road. Much depends on your psycho and physiological reactivity. Interestingly, classical music, which has long been considered the most neutral for drivers, can also be dangerous, because it has an unnecessarily relaxing effect, while driving is necessary to remain collected. The scientists also concluded that the likelihood of getting into an accident is higher among motorists who listen to music in the car at a rhythm of 120 beats per minute or higher. The impact of BPM on driver behavior has also been noted by other studies. It has been noticed that when this figure exceeds 60, the driver’s heart rate increases, pressure rises, resulting in a sharper ride. The researchers completely agree on one thing: heavy rock, metal, punk rocks are those genres of music that unwittingly provoke drivers to speed up and behave aggressively on the road.
CD’s
Not only the hearing itself can be distracted, but also the operation of the devices – for example, when drivers change the station again and again while driving. In addition to cassette decks and built-in CD players, all-in-ones now also offer the ability to connect to MP3 players or smartphones. On the one hand, music can increase productivity and reduce stress by having a relaxing effect in stressful situations and thus reducing the negative impact of stress on cognitive function. However, the opposite effect is also possible, since music requires attention resources, and this can lead to a loss of performance in the cognitive sphere. If other people play music, driving style deteriorates. The best drivers are those who listen to their favorite music. This realization can cause turbulence in many family outings.
People who drive a car are under a lot of stress every second. It is known that at any moment drivers can throw out their negative energy and this will end in a very sad way. That is why experts recommend relaxing and turning on your favorite tracks. Ideally, if these tracks are calm and relaxing, then the driver can concentrate on driving and not think about the bad. Therefore, popular music is considered the safest for drivers. Simple melodies, lack of bright accents, texts devoid of serious semantic meaning make pop tracks the most suitable for listening in a car.
Bottom Line
In general, it also helps if the music doesn’t have a lot of lyrics, according to research. Because the more texts, the more it distracts because you concentrate on the text. At the same time, you must also recognize the red traffic light and drive safely. Everyone should be aware of the influence of music while driving. To ensure a safe driving style, drivers should choose music that suits the situation and their mood and is in no way stressful or aggressive.
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