Why Your Brain Forces You to Turn Down the Music When Driving Gets Stressful

If you’ve ever pressed the volume button while driving in harsh conditions, you’re not alone. Many drivers insist that they “can’t see” when the music is blaring, even though the logic seems questionable. But science says instinct is not wrong.

So what is the science behind music and driving? And are there situations where music becomes beneficial rather than a burden?

Learn more: The way animals react to music may surprise you

The risks of driving to music

Listening to music while driving may seem harmless. According to an article from Health Promotion Perspectives72 to 100 percent of drivers consider in-car audio a necessary part of the ride, and we spend about 75 percent of our time on the road with something playing.

But not all music affects us in the same way while driving. Studies have shown that as volume increases, so does our average driving speed. Louder music tends to increase drivers’ mental workload, and high-energy songs can pump up adrenaline and distract attention from the road.

Young drivers are particularly vulnerable to this effect, according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. They may prefer to drive with their favorite playlists, but research shows that their performance deteriorates with their favorite music. When listening to music they like, young drivers commit more traffic violations, make more driving errors, exhibit more aggressive behavior, and are more distracted overall. By listening to quiet music or no music at all, they drove much safer.

These changes in driving ability are not about musical tastes, but rather about cognitive limitations and working memory. Driving requires constant focus, situational awareness and quick decision-making, and every sensory distraction siphons off resources that should be reserved for the road.

Why we think we “see” better without music

Although scientists don’t suggest that there is one specific thing that helps us concentrate better with or without music, for those of us who choose to turn down the music volume when faced with difficult driving situations, it is likely related to our working memory.

Described by the Child Mind Institute as everything you keep in mind while you do something, working memory acts like the brain’s notebook, storing and processing the information we need in the moment. Unlike long-term memory, which operates silently in the background, working memory is active and very easy to overload.

As explained by a researcher writing in Accident analysis and preventionworking memory plays a major role in processing information while driving and helps us interpret visual and sensory signals:

“A driver encountering a yellow signal would need working memory to temporarily store the signal state while scanning the road for more information to decide whether to accelerate or brake in response.”

As working memory becomes saturated – by loud music, complex rhythms or emotional lyrics – there are fewer mental resources left to steer, brake or assess road hazards. Research shows that higher working memory capacity is directly linked to safer driving behaviors and better decision-making.

Simply reducing audio input can help the brain reallocate resources to visual and spatial processing, making us feel like more focused drivers.

Does music sometimes help us drive?

Although some music can overwhelm our brains while driving, some studies suggest that listening to music in the car actually has many benefits. Studies show that music can reduce stress, calm our nerves, and help us stay awake while driving.

A study from the University of Groningen found that listening to music while driving had little or no effect on driving performance. In fact, they found that all measured effects were positive. On long, monotonous roads, music makes drivers more attentive and improves their performance.

As study author Ayça Berfu Ünal explains in a press release: “We asked participants to drive behind another vehicle for half an hour on a quiet road. As expected, this became very tedious. But the people who listened to music were more focused on driving and performed better than those without music.”

Overall, music seems to be both a distraction and a driving tool. When we adjust the volume, choose quieter trackers, or skip a song, we’re not being picky: we’re managing our cognitive workload in real time.

Learn more: Does everyone feel the same emotions when listening to music?

Article sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review them for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. See the sources used below for this article: