Loud music seems to cause people in bars to drink more in a shorter time, according to a new study,.

Nicolas Gueguen, of University de Bretagne-Sun in France, devised a small experiment to reach the result.

Researchers visited two bars for three Saturday nights. They observed 40 men from ages 18 to 25 who ordered beer but who did not know they were being watched. The scientists were allowed to change the volume of music before picking someone to track.

Results showed that high sound levels led to increased drinking, within a decreased amount of time, according to a news release from the researchers. The authors said there could be two possible reasons.

"One, in agreement with previous research on music, food and drink, high sound levels may have caused higher arousal, which led the subjects to drink faster and to order more drinks," said Gueguen. "Two, loud music may have had a negative effect on social interaction in the bar, so that patrons drank more because they talked less."

Full results will be published in the October issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.