Why do we turn off the radio when we get lost – Wel.nl

Just be aware: if you get lost or have to turn back to a very small parking lot, you can often turn the music down in your car.

Turning off the radio instead of looking at the map when you’re lost or driving on unfamiliar roads might sound strange, but it turns out it’s not at all weird. that it Your brain’s natural response on conditions.

To understand this, you need to know a few things about how the human brain works. Your brain is made up of three parts: the cerebrum, which is the main part of the brain, and the part that controls higher cognitive functions such as language and emotions directs. the cerebellum, which controls the movements and balance of your muscles; and the brainstem, which controls all automatic bodily functions, such as breathing, and also serves as a relay station between the spinal cord, brainstem, and cerebellum.

As you go about your day, you gather information about your environment through five basic sensory systems: taste, hearing, smell, touch, and sight. Each sensory system has its own sensory neurons, and each tells the central nervous system about changes in your environment. The brain, which is part of the central nervous system, collects all this information and decides how to proceed. This process is called encryption. The brain is constantly evaluating what its primary task – the main task the brain is focused on – and its secondary task, the simultaneous task whose focus is less, should be.

The brain’s ability to switch between tasks is called attention switching, and it comes at a price: When the brain shifts its focus and attention from one task to another, it’s done quickly, but it costs a tiny amount, very little time. Those milliseconds you spend diverting attention can slow down your performance, including slight delays in your reaction times. And if you get lost, it could mean the difference between seeing or not seeing the street sign you need to see.

People often turn off the radio when driving in crowded urban areas, looking for a specific address, driving in heavy rain or during a snowstorm, because these activities require more concentration than normal driving. Turning the radio on or off removes a task from the brain’s task list and shifts the focus to the most important task: finding the way.