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Fast food smells lead to bad driving
Cinnamon calms and helps concentration.
Driving
badly? Then ditch the fast food and reach for the mints.
Different odors affect the way motorists drive,
with fast food scents likely to increase road rage potential and
other smells — like peppermint — deemed to improve concentration,
said the RAC Foundation, a British automobile association.
"More than any other sense, the sense of
smell circumnavigates the logical part of the brain," said Conrad King,
RAC Foundation's consulting psychologist.
"This is why the smell of perfume can turn
men into gibbering idiots, the smell of baking bread can destroy
the best intentions of a dieter and the smell of baby powder can
make a child-averse individual quite broody," King stated.
The RAC Foundation said it has conducted research
into the impact of smells on driving after the release of an odor
study by Bryan Raudenbush of the Wheeling Jesuit University, West
Virginia in the United States.
King said good odors to have in your vehicle,
other than peppermint, included cinnamon, lemon and coffee. A
blast of salty sea air can also encourage deep breathing and help
relieve stress.
In contrast the smell of fast food wrappers
or fresh bread can cause driver irritability and a tendency to
speed because they make drivers feel hungry and in a hurry to
satiate their appetites.
Other "dangerous" odors are chamomile,
jasmine and lavender because they can cause drivers to over relax
or fall asleep. The plants are commonly used to treat insomnia.
For those motorists who might opt for a neutral
smelling interior, be warned. Studies of astronauts found an odorless
environment created irriability and even olfactory hallucinations.
Situation
1. Different
odors affect the way motorists drive, shows British Automobile
Association
2. Research conducted into impact of smells on driving
after release of odor
3. Studies
of astronauts found odorless environments created irritability
and even olfactory hallucinations
Significant
Points
1. Good
odors: peppermint; cinnamon; lemon & coffee
2. Blast of salty sea air can also encourage deep breathing
and help relieve stress
3. Bad odors: smell of fast food wrappers and bread make
driver hungry and cause to speed to get food
4. Dangerous
odors: chamomile, jasmine, lavender make drivers over relax
or fall asleep
(Sourced
from Automotive Digest, originally published in CNNMoney.com)
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