Background Music For Improved Concentration
Sometimes it is good to have some background music to spice up your focus journey.
I’m a big fan of listening to instrumental music and also background music whilst I need to focus on studies or work or anything else.
In a previous article, I had shared some of my food of thoughts on why I’m keen to listen to instrumental music and also shared some of my favorite instrumental music which I listen to.
Today, I’ll discuss some more things about listening to music that plays in the background while studying or working or anything. This article investigates how background music influences learning with respect to different theoretical approaches and scientific benefits.
Though the idea of music as relaxing is nothing new. Some people are listening to music as a way to deal with concentration from different levels of distractions.
“music can raze out the written troubles of the brain” William Shakespeare
Yeah !!! There’re some people who like to listen to music as relaxing while working or do anything for concentration as therapy and same another side there are some people who don’t like to listen to music. Anyway, different people have different philosophies behind listening to music.
Scientists think that listening to music and spatial reasoning are related because they are processed similarly in the brain. Music activates a variety of areas in our brains but focuses primarily on the temporal, prefrontal cortex, and parietal.
I use music to focus, like an internal motor. Edgar Wright
Brain areas concerned with spatial reasoning include the prefrontal and temporal regions that overlap with music processing. Therefore, listening to music causes direct activation of the same areas concerned with problem-solving.
Theoretical Perspectives:
There are some theoretical approaches that indicate that background music can potentially benefit learning outcomes.
1. The Mozart effect:
The Mozart effect refers to the theory that listening to the music of Mozart may temporarily boost scores on one portion of an IQ test. Wiki
The Mozart effect assumes a direct influence of background music on cognitive abilities.
Learn more here;
2. The Arousal & Mood Hypothesis:
The arousal-mood-hypothesis assumes a mediation effect over-arousal and mood.
Learn more here;
3. Seductive Detail Effect:
The seductive detail effect indicates that seductive details such as background music worsen learning. Moreover, as working memory capacity has a crucial influence on learning with seductive details, we also included the learner’s working memory capacity as a factor in our study.
At present the effects of background music while learning and the mechanisms behind this are unclear. On the one side, music seems to have a positive (Mozart effect ) and stimulating effect (arousal-mood-hypothesis ), which could improve learning. On the other side, background music could lead to an additional burden on working memory (seductive detail effect ), thus hindering learning. To be able to simultaneously deal with the learning material and the background music, the learner’s working memory capacity is a crucial factor to consider.
Scientific Benefit:
Listening to music can be entertaining and numerous scientific and psychological research studies have shown that this can be beneficial since music and background music offers a range of benefits when it comes to factors such as productivity, creativity, concentration, and mood.
Music not only helps us cope with pain, but it can also benefit our physical and mental health in numerous other ways. music can lift our moods, combat depression, improve blood flow in ways similar to statins, lower levels of stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and ease the pain. Music can improve the outcomes for patients after surgery.
A recent study reported in Nature Neuroscience even demonstrated that levels of the feel-good chemical dopamine in the brain rose by up to nine percent when people listened to music they enjoyed.
“One good thing about music, is when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
There are some world-famous musicians like Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift who have discussed publicly the benefits of music on our healthy specifically mental health.
While it’s possible to simply take advantage of these benefits without any planning, there are certain things that can make listening to music and background noise more effectively.
Here are some of the benefits;
- Relaxes the mind
- Increases concentration
- Lessens distractions
- Improves focus
- Improves performance in high-pressure situations, such as mid-terms and finals week
Relative Articles:
It is interesting how music effects your concentration. These are a few brilliant articles that reminded you why I love listening to Instrumental background music. They keep you focused and are not distracting.
My Philosophy:
I like to listen to very specific different kinds of music at different times in the background depending on what I’m doing. If I’m reading or concentrating on anything it must be non-lyrical relaxing music. If I’m doing anything that doesn’t require extreme focus, background music is a must and it is can be anything. It’s very relaxing and in my opinion, I find that I’m more focused when listening to it.
I find that I can benefit from listening to any music while what I’m doing, as long as I follow these few simple rules:
- Any song with lyrics must be a song I’ve heard so many times that the lyrics have become part of the melody and not something new which can distract me.
- Avoid that music that changes gears a lot throughout the piece. I could never listen because it easily distract me from my important tasks.
- the best background should probably be very light.
- One of the most important things to get right is volume. This is important whether you’re listening to your favorite kind of music with lyrics or instrumental. Music that is too loud and sits above the “background” threshold is likely to be more distracting than helpful. Noise-canceling headphones can help you keep music at a low level, even in loud environments.
But mostly For me, it has to be instrumental or Sufi dhikr. The lyrics are too distracting. I don’t too much like rock or jazz, there are all good but Sometimes though these genres have sounds that are too busy, too much, and distract you.
My Playlist:
I have picked some of the best ones from my playlists on YouTube. I hope this list helps you to boost some productivity. So here are some suggested genres and examples of each that may help put your brain in the right frame of mind. Take a listen.
Different Music Suits Different Tasks
Sounds of nature:
Keeps your brain engaged by increasing concentration. According to scientists If you collect a separate playlist for effective learning, the sounds of nature must be in it! These can be birdsong, the murmur of a stream, the sounds of rain, and so on. They act similarly to white noise and mask extraneous sounds by helping to concentrate on the case. Both pure natural sounds and the music they contain have an equally positive effect.
Instrumental music:
Great choice when reading and writing. If the work requires full immersion in the text and its understanding, or you need to write some definitions as accurately as possible, then this point is just for you. Many people are disturbed by the lyrics and because of this the quality of work “limps”. Classic melodies by famous composers come to the rescue, which will improve your fertility.
Electronic music: Chill-out electronic music for serious studying and deep concentration
Sufi Dhikr background:
This is excellent background music for working or generally needing focus, ty for sharing!
Final Thought:
Music has become much more readily available to the public in the past decades. Many people like to listen to music or background noise while they perform various activities, such as working, studying, or exercising. It can be hard to focus in a world with so many distractions.
music is often designed to motivate without being distracting. It’s ultimately designed to help focus you on the task at hand.
For some situations, it seems intuitive to think that music would help to enhance our experience. The right kind of music can make all the difference often make for perfect background audio to help you focus.
Research suggests that a good mood generally improves your learning outcomes. You’ll likely have more success with studying and learning new material when you’re feeling good.
There are some reasons to pick some instrumental background music, particularly we love. Listening to background music can help elicit a sense of that enjoyment and escapism while working. Not everyone loves their job, but even if you do, work is still work. But not everyone needs a groove to feel focused.
Regardless of what music is doing to your brain when you have it on in the background, I would propose that you want to leave your language areas alone to focus on what you want to produce rather than interpreting external input.
Try to focus on how music affects you, your body, and your emotional state. If you are looking for music to concentrate on, which will be played in the background, it should be rather quiet and have a mild tone.
Music doesn’t just motivate you. It can also help reduce stress and promote a more positive mindset.
I hope you will find the best music for your needs. Choosing music carefully can help you maximize its benefits.
Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive.
Be patient with yourself. And Keep learning!!
Always start your day by renewing your intention that everything you do for yourself and your community, whether it be your acts of worship or daily chores. It all has to be merely for the sake of Allah (SWT) and Also, I ask Allah (SWT) to make my work dedicated only to him and forgiveness from Allah ( SWT), if I have got anything wrong. It is He who is the Hearing, the knowing..
Finally, İ pray Allah to benefit those who read this article and others, grant me truthfulness in what I say and do, preserve my thoughts and my pen from deviation and guide me in all my affairs.
And all praise and thanks are due to Allah, without Whose help and guidance nothing can be accomplished. May Allah bless and protect you and your faith Ameen.
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