The next time you’re in traffic, you can chill out thanks to a partnership between 2 popular apps.
Navigation app Waze (140m+ users) and meditation app Headspace (70m users) released a new mindful driving experience yesterday in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. You’ll find it as a Headspace theme within the Waze app.
Users can:
- Get their audio navigation from the soothing voice of Eve Lewis Prieto, Headspace’s director of meditation
- Turn their car icon into a hot air balloon
- Listen to a custom playlist of Headspace music and podcasts
- Choose from 1 of 5 “moods” — aware, bright, hopeful, joyful, and open. Moods are avatars drivers can use to share their feelings.
How stressful is driving?
Very! And its impacts last even beyond the road:
- Studies show driving for long hours elicits an extended stress response.
- The UK Office of National Statistics found that commuters experience decreased happiness and increased anxiety after just 15 minutes of driving.
- The Journal of Public Economics published an analysis of LA traffic, finding that congestion increased nighttime domestic violence by ~9%.
- Road rage is a factor in 66% of fatal accidents.
It’s not meditation but being present behind the wheel
Prieto says that driving is actually a great time for mindfulness as it requires focus, awareness, and using one’s senses.
For more, check out some tips from psychologist Seth Gillihan, who suggests noticing what we see, hear, and feel.
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