Music While Driving Is Riskier Than Relaxing
When we’re driving, it’s common to turn on the radio and listen to music. But the doubt is also common: does this not distract us? Listening to the radio and driving at the same time are tasks not performed with equal focus by the brain. “In fact, the human brain is not able to focus on several things at the same time, what happens is that it has the ability to quickly switch between different tasks”, explains neurosurgeon Saul Almeida, director of the Neurosurgery Emergency Room. from the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP.
Thus, one has the impression of being able to carry out several actions, but Almeida adds: “We are going to carry out these tasks in an incomplete or superficial way. This happens because the tension in the brain is divided between these various tasks, and the result is a decrease in the quality of what we are doing and, in addition, when we quickly switch between different tasks, you end up overloading your brain”.
Other factors make this quick switch between activities even more difficult, especially when it comes to listening to music. Marcelo Costa, a professor at the Institute of Psychology at USP, explains how sensory stimuli do this: “We are constantly seeking information from our environment: visually, auditorily, in short, all stimuli will always automatically recruit our attention. . When I want to pay attention to something, for example, reading a text, an article, I use a voluntary attention mechanism, that is, I control where I want to focus my attention. However, we are still at the mercy of these other sensory stimuli, I mean, regardless of whether I am voluntarily concentrating on this point, if my office door slams, I will stop paying attention here,
The same thing happens when listening to music. “The fact that we like the music that started playing will make this stimulus gain greater salience: all of this, added up, increases the chance that music will automatically recruit my attention”, completes Costa.
Volume
A survey carried out by Auto Express magazine and the IAM RoadSmart network compares different genres of music such as classical, pop and heavy metal, at maximum volume. The conclusion of the study was that, in general, heavy metal is very distracting to the driver, while classical music keeps him very relaxed — which is also not considered a positive point. However, a lot was due to the fact that the volume was at maximum.
“Music can indeed affect the way we drive, it can distract the driver’s attention and affect their concentration. When we are dividing our brain activity between two tasks, we end up reducing our perception and our reaction time while driving. In addition, loud music can make it difficult for the driver to hear important sounds such as sirens, horns. It can also affect people in different ways, depending on the volume of music, the type of music being listened to and the driver’s level of experience”, puts the neurosurgeon.
Balance
However, as much as the brain is not able to listen to music and pay attention to the road at the same time, relaxing to the sound of the radio still has benefits, as Costa puts it: “One of the reasons why music makes us reduce our our concern is exactly the focus. When we listen to a song, as it has this ability to affect us emotionally, especially a song that we like, it will recruit our attention to the components of that song. Even if I still keep thinking about the problem, part of my attention will be connected to the music, lessening the impact that problem has. That positive feeling counterbalances the negatives of that problem.”
Almeida gives a tip to minimize loss of focus when the aforementioned factors are present: “While you are driving your car, it is important to try to choose music that is pleasant for you, keeping it at a safe volume to avoid distractions and guarantee your safety. and that of your vehicle”.