Drivers are more at risk if their heart beats at the same moment they detect an unexpected situation.
This is shown by new results from the University of Sussex in England. The researchers had the test participants go on a virtual driving trip and measured their heart rate during it.
Experimental participants fumbled more often
In the simulator, unexpected obstacles appeared, precisely timed, sometimes so that the unexpected appeared as soon as the heart beat, and sometimes in between beats.
Reactivity was found to decrease significantly when the heart beat and the participants felt more frequent.
The heartbeat is when the heart muscle contracts and pumps blood, and this clearly affects a variety of brain functions.
Experiments by the same scientists have previously shown that we feel less pain at the moment of the heartbeat, and we also have more difficulty remembering words presented to us at the same moment as the heart beats.
A high heart rate can be dangerous
The scientists are not sure of the reason, but special receptors in the large blood vessels are suspected.
These receptors are activated when the heart contracts and send messages to the brain about the blood pressure, and this may interfere with other messages.
This study may show that it is appropriate to be careful in the car after exercise or when the heart rate is rapid for some reason.
