Headbanging Can Cause Brain Injury

(Our happy hour fact to amaze your drinking buddies with.)

Overenthusiastic headbanging may result in mild brain damage.

According to a study from the University of South Wales, the average tempo of a heavy metal song is 146 beats per minute. At that rate, researchers found a risk of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury if the head is thrust back and forth at more than a 75 degree range.

Songs like Mötley Crüe's "Kick Start My Heart," which checks in at 180 bpm, are especially dangerous, and the study's authors go so far as advising certain music come with "a proper health warning, as for smoking."

Of course, these findings support an earlier groundbreaking thesis that concluded, "Bang your head, mental health will drive you mad."

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