Productivity

The science of concentration has spoken: music does not help concentration.

It has been decades reaffirming that music helps to improve the stimulation of creativity and the realization of creative tasks, regardless of the musical genre or the time of origin of the music, today are found in various digital platforms, playlist and recommendations for that purpose.

Background music works as a sensory stimulus, which influences the cognitive performance of people who listen to it, but the truth is that, according to several scientific studies, the effect it produces in listeners is as a distracting agent, even diminishing some capabilities.

Those responsible for this study, psychologists from the universities in Lancashire, Gävle and Lancaster, found that participants, when listening to background music such as instrumental music without lyrics and songs with popular and familiar lyrics, were significantly affected to complete the assigned tasks. The tasks were based on verbal perception where creativity was required to complete them. In contrast to the other study group, where constant noise such as that of a library was used, there was no significant effect.

Apparently, this is because music and noise disrupt verbal working memory, unlike library noise, which is considered a steady noise and is considered to be less disruptive.

When faced with a mental problem, the human brain works in two stages. The first stage is that of analyzing the problem, possible solutions and discarding them. It is precisely in this stage where music can be a distracting and even blocking agent, especially when they are cognitive processes that require more attention, such as writing or explaining. During the second stage, there is a continuous process in the mind, where the problem continues to be analyzed at an unconscious level.

But not everything is negative, music can be a great ally when you want to take a break from the situation and need new possible ideas. In addition, it can help to digress, to seek inspiration, reduce anxiety levels and improve mood, and these changes could positively influence to generate new creative ideas.

Without forgetting that each person is a world, and there are many who can work with music at all levels and be more productive regardless of the genre that is being played.

20 de Abril, 2021