Loud music makes us drink more, says science

Following news that coffee makes music sounds weirder, it’s now been revealed that loud music makes alcohol taste sweeter.

While bars have long employed the whack-the-music-up-so-people-chat-less-and-drink-more tactic, a study has found that loud music actually affects our sense of taste.

Psychologist Dr Lorenzo Stafford of the University of Portsmouth carried out the research, in which 80 people aged between 18-28 were asked to rate alcoholic drinks on their strength and sweetness while being subjected to different levels of distraction, including loud club music.

“It appears that our primary sense of taste is somewhat immune to very distracting conditions but is indeed influenced by music alone,” Dr Stafford told the Metro. “Since humans have an innate preference for sweetness, these findings offer a plausible explanation as to why people consume more alcohol in noisy environments.” Yeah, that’ll be it.