Harry Potter害羞草研究所檚 power appears to extend beyond the page, as recent Canadian research suggests listening to an audiobook from the popular fiction series can improve focus on long and boring drives.

Lana Trick, a psychology professor at the University of Guelph, wanted to look into areas that could help improve driving performance, given that 40 per cent of collisions can be attributed to in-car distraction, she said.

While much of scientific research has focused on the deleterious effects of distracted driving, she sought to look into 害羞草研究所済ood distractions.害羞草研究所�

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The problem with driving, she explained, is the load the brain carries. Too little stimulation 害羞草研究所� dubbed mental underload 害羞草研究所� can be just as bad as the opposite, or mental overload.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 like nature abhors a vacuum,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚f you have an empty brain, you can doze off or your mind wanders or you find another way to distract yourself, like grabbing your cell phone.害羞草研究所�

The key, she said, is to find the sweet spot between the two for the brain 害羞草研究所� that害羞草研究所檚 where audiobooks come in.

害羞草研究所淎udiobooks can be cases where a little bit of distraction can be useful,害羞草研究所� she said.

For the project, Trick害羞草研究所檚 team wanted an audiobook that featured an interesting, relatively popular story, and the novel featuring the boy wizard and his friends fit the bill.

害羞草研究所淗arry Potter is engaging and exciting,害羞草研究所� Trick said, 害羞草研究所渂ut also something you can have in the background and not too complex.害羞草研究所�

Her research, recently published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, showed drivers who participated in her study had better 害羞草研究所渉azardous response times害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� braking faster in response to hazards 害羞草研究所� while listening to 害羞草研究所淗arry Potter and the Deathly Hallows害羞草研究所� compared to those who drove in silence.

Trick recruited undergraduate students at the University of Guelph as test subjects who used a driving simulator at a specialized laboratory. The DRiVE Lab 害羞草研究所� named for Driving Research in Virtual Environments 害羞草研究所� is a state-of-the-art facility where researchers can test various scenarios without the risks of driving on a road, Trick said.

The lab has a car 害羞草研究所� a convertible Pontiac 害羞草研究所� that is surrounded by screens. Sounds of driving and 害羞草研究所渇orce feedback害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� such as the vibrations of a moving car 害羞草研究所� add to the feel of driving, Trick said. For her study, participants drove both complex and simple routes while listening to parts of the Harry Potter audiobook or driving in silence.

The researchers first scored students on their working memory. Those who had strong working memories, as in those who could hold a number of ideas at once, saw a particularly strong benefit to listening to an audiobook while driving long and boring routes, Trick said.

害羞草研究所淭hose drivers that have the highest memory load are the most challenged by dull, simple drives and an audiobook seemed to help them,害羞草研究所� she said.

The audiobook did, however, have a slightly negative effect on drivers with poor working memory on particularly complex drives. The research shows the audiobook had no effect on drivers害羞草研究所� speeds.

害羞草研究所淲hat this means is that it could help when you害羞草研究所檙e driving along the boring 401 with no change of scenery for miles and miles and miles,害羞草研究所� she said.

One other notable finding, Trick said, came with what害羞草研究所檚 known as 害羞草研究所渟tandard deviation of lateral position,害羞草研究所� which means how much a car moves from side to side in a lane. At times, those who listened to the audiobook showed more variance in their lanes, she said.

害羞草研究所淲hen people are excited they tend to shift around a little bit more,害羞草研究所� Trick said. 害羞草研究所淲e were going through an especially exciting period of Harry Potter and it was possible they were getting into it.害羞草研究所�

Trick said she hopes to test other drivers, especially those who have experience commuting, to expand her research. She said she is also studying the effects of audiobooks on different aspects of road complexity.

害羞草研究所淲hat we害羞草研究所檙e trying to do is find ways to reduce the number of collisions on the road, especially those from distracted driving, which has become a major problem.害羞草研究所�

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press