Music can help you stay focused and be productive. Only you need to choose it correctly.
Research by scientists from the University of Birmingham showed that music is a useful aid in performing monotonous work. Whether it’s mindlessly checking emails or filling out a spreadsheet, having music can help you get things done faster.
If it comes to intricate, creative, intellectual work that requires the brain’s active participation, then any music will no longer work. This requires a particular playlist.
Sounds of nature
Recent research by scientists from the Rensselaer Polytechnic showed that the presence of “natural elements” in music enhances the general mood and helps concentrate.
Sounds of nature, like white noise, well mask human speech, to which we are easily distracted, and positively affect cognitive function and concentration. Thanks to the natural sounds, the overall satisfaction of the test subjects grew steadily during work.
By the way, in addition to the chirping of birds and the sounds of rain, which are most often associated with natural ones, the stream’s murmur also causes a beneficial effect. According to the same studies, the noise of a mountain stream also belongs to attention-enhancing sounds.
It doesn’t matter if you listen to a recording of exclusively nature sounds or turn on music containing these elements: both options will positively affect.
Finding the sounds of nature is quite simple by the corresponding request, for example, on YouTube.
Favorite songs
Each of us has a certain number of tracks that we like more than others. Making such a playlist is useful because it is the music we love that helps many of us work better. This is the conclusion reached by Teresa Lesiuk, who works as part of the music therapy program at the University of Miami:
“Stress forces us to make hasty decisions, and the area of attention is significantly reduced. Improving the mood through music allows you to look at things more broadly and consider more options. “
Interestingly, favorite music has the greatest effect in cases when a person has not yet become a pro in his work: listening to his favorite songs allowed such subjects to complete tasks faster and generate better ideas.
Music you don’t care about
The perception of the environment changes from person to person. This is confirmed by research by a Taiwanese university. When listening to the most and least attractive music for them, a certain number of people react with a decrease in concentration. This is just the case when, having heard your favorite track, you forget about everything and ultimately go into it. If you observe a similar reaction to your favorite and hated music, then include the most neutral compositions that do not evoke expressed emotions.
Instrumental music
Words are distracting. According to Cambridge Sound Management research, you cannot blame the overall noise performance for the performance drop. It is the words that distract us because a person, hearing speech, inevitably switches from the current activity and begins to listen to the conversation topic. This is our social nature, and 48% of the subjects were exposed to this phenomenon.
We can be distracted by any spoken words, regardless of whether we hear them in an office noise or a song playing on headphones. Have you noticed how sometimes you find yourself listening to the text of a track? This is precisely the case. Instrumental music will help those who are prone to sticking to lyrics. No words, no distraction.
Baroque music
The effect of listening to music depends on its tempo. Canadian researchers found that subjects do better on IQ tests with more dynamic music, and Baroque music is a favorite. Groups of researchers reached the same conclusion from the University and Hospital of Baltimore, and the University of Philadelphia. Baroque music helps you work better.
Another study by scientists from the Malaysian College of Engineering found a noticeable reduction in Stress and physical relaxation signs when listening to music at a tempo in the region of 60 beats per minute. In the musical vocabulary, the term “larghetto” roughly corresponds to this tempo.
Average volume
The ideal volume is medium. This conclusion was reached scientists from four universities at once: studies have revealed a positive effect of listening to music at a moderate volume on creative thinking.
According to these studies, both moderate and loud music help abstract thinking, but excessive volume interferes with the brain’s information processing.
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