Your body may move to music on the dance floor, but how does your brain function when listening to songs while you are working?
Many people swear in some way. Electronic music may speed up the pace of typing for some people, but others are just distracting. In fact, whether the music problem can help you get your job done or prevent you from something that may be very individualistic.
However, new research shows that certain types of bright, groovy music without lyrics can improve people’s moods while speeding up their ability to complete tasks.
“We think people feel better and that will allow them to work faster,” says Pablo Liporez, a cognitive neuroscientist at New York University.
Studying music and workflow
in study It was recently published on PLOS 1Ripollés and his colleagues recruited 200 volunteers and split them into four groups. They then asked each participant how they felt and completed a task that required their full attention and focus to see if there was any difference in performance.
One of these sounds was workflow music produced by Spiritun, known as “anxiety-sensitive.” One was a recording of white noise from the office. One was a mixture of popular rock, pop and rap. And the final was a “deep focus” playlist drawn from Spotify.
read more: This is the brain of music
Improve your mood and efficiency
Tests showed that no one was more accurate in completing tasks. The changes to music seemed to have not affected their abilities, at least on average. However, those who listened to workflow music finished the task a little faster on average than those who listened to other sounds.
Ripollés says that the atmosphere of these people has also improved while listening to workflow music.
“When I look at the mood changes before and after listening to music, the only people who improved their mood were those who listened to workflow music,” he says. “The better they felt, the faster they got to work.”
Personal taste and workflow
It’s more difficult to say exactly why workflow music has increased efficiency, but Ripollés has several theories. For example, I never liked all four sounds equally. Most participants reported that they did not like the white noise tracks in the office.
Meanwhile, some people liked playlists based on top Billboard hits, but others didn’t. The latter has probably become a personal preference. For example, people who like rap aren’t necessarily fond of rock or pop.
Most respondents liked the “Deep Focus” Spotify playlist. It consisted essentially of neutral ambient sound type tracks with no lyrics. The trouble was, it wasn’t groovy, says Ripollés.
Spiritane Workflow Music doesn’t even have lyrics, but it blends funk elements. “People get the desire to move,” says Ripollés.
Inspiration for dance and movement may be an important factor that goes further than inducing the right kind of mood.
“For music to improve our perception, we need to not only improve our moods, but also increase our arousal levels,” says Ripollés.
These factors can help people stay inspired, which help them focus on their work, he says.
read more: Exploring the effects of music on creativity
How people can respond to music
Ripollés said that this test seemed to indicate that Spiritunes music tracks could generally be useful, but many personal variations are likely. For example, it is difficult to measure the effects that rock, pop, or rap music may have from a billboard list, as tastes vary between listeners. And not all pop music is created equally. While the other tracks are groovier or brighter, the tone may be sad.
Efficiency is not just a key factor for people in the workplace. Some jobs require creativity and open up a whole new kind of discussion that music can work best.
Ripollés hopes the results his team has achieved will help him make better choices on the playlists while he is working.
“When people want to use music to focus, they should think a little about what kind of music really helps them,” he says.
article sauce
Our Author discovermagazine.com Our articles use peer-reviewed research and high-quality sources, and editors review scientific accuracy and editing criteria. Check out the sources used below in this article.
Joshua Rapp Learn is an award-winning DC-based science writer. As an expatriate Albertan, he has contributed to many scientific publications such as National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Scientist, Hakai and more.
