We all know how certain music can affect our mood. Everyone has those songs that get them excited and energized, as well as those songs that get us relaxed and emotional.<\/p>\n
What about what we choose to listen to while we drive? How does that affect us?<\/p>\n
The Positives
\nResearch has found that when you listen to music you enjoy, it releases a hormone in the body (oxytocin) that is similar to what you feel when you hug a loved one.<\/p>\n
Depending on the genre, listening to music while driving is also found to promote:<\/p>\n
Positive mood
\nSafer driving behaviors
\nLower breathing rate
\nDecrease in road rage
\nDecreased driving anxiety
\nIncreased focus
\nThe Negatives
\nWhile the list above shows the many ways that listening to your favorite music can help you be a better driver, it may also lead to distractions.<\/p>\n
Specifically for teenagers, listening to music can lead to a lack of focus on the road and other cars, and generally more unsafe driving behaviors.<\/p>\n
One explanation for this is that teenagers are less experienced drivers. Another explanation is that, on average, teenagers listen to music at a louder volume than adults. Interestingly enough, loud music is connected to a slower reaction time.<\/p>\n
Effects of Tempo
\nTempo refers to the speed of the music. Research has been conducted to see how the speed of a song may impact driving behaviors.<\/p>\n
For fast tempo songs, it was found that:<\/p>\n
Fast tempo songs reduce driver fatigue;
\nDecrease focus;
\nIncrease speeding; and,
\nIncrease chances of collision.
\nIn comparison, slow tempo songs:<\/p>\n
Increase the driver\u2019s attention and focus on the road;
\nIncrease fatigue after a long period of time listening; and,
\nDecrease anxiety.
\nBased on these factors, it may seem that slower tempo songs are a safer option while driving. However, for long drives, it may be best to switch it up and have some slow and fast tempo songs on the playlist!<\/p>\n
Safe Driving Songs
\nThe general consensus is that the safest driving songs will be between 60 and 80 beats per minute (BPM).<\/p>\n
Try these on your next trip:<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m Yours\u2019 by Jason Mraz
\n\u2018I Don\u2019t Wanna Miss A Thing\u2019 by Aerosmith
\n\u2018The Scientist\u2019 by Coldplay
\n\u2018Eastside\u2019 by Benny Blanco
\n\u2018Tiny Dancer\u2019 by Elton John
\n\u2018Lover\u2019 by Taylor Swift<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all know how certain music can affect our mood. Everyone has those songs that get them excited and energized, as well as those songs that get us relaxed and emotional. What about what we choose to listen to while we drive? How does that affect us? The Positives Research has found that when you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}