Windblown hair? Don’t care!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Who doesn’t love a drive with the windows down! Gets you fresh air… or does it?
Enter Michael T. Young and the University of Washington.
They had sixteen participants drive three different days through Seattle traffic. One day, cars were outfitted with special air filters. The filters were removed on the other two days. Blood pressure was measured before, during, and after the drive.
Results?
Participants with unfiltered air actually had a six percent increase in blood pressure one hour after driving. Even a day later, blood pressure was still five percent higher.
By incorporating quality air filters in cars, our rides can be healthier.
Because nothing beats a good drive! But I control the music.
Reference: Young, M. T., Jansen, K., Cosselman, K. E., Gould, T. R., Stewart, J. A., Larson, T., Sack, C., Vedal, S., Szpiro, A. A., & Kaufman, J. D. (2023). Blood pressure effect of traffic-related Air Pollution. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/m23-1309