With all of us spending more time at home, and some transitioning to remote work, music has become an increasingly important companion in our daily lives.
From hosting virtual parties to banding together in Youtube music communities, the pandemic has seen a surge in our reliance on music, along with other external factors, to provide us with some comfort and incentive when our usual motivators such as workspaces, cafes and gyms are no longer a daily option. Instead, we are forced to contend with our own devices to keep the momentum going in our DIY home-office workspaces.
Music can be a great mood booster, as it decreases anxiety and helps manage stress by activating regions in the brain associated with emotion and memory. When it comes to doing better and more efficient work, studies have found a correlation between music and its impact on our productivity levels.
However there is no simple solution - it largely depends on the task you are performing, and the type of music you listen to. In this article, we’ll dig deeper into the research and explore if and when you should listen to music while you work.
The Science Behind the Music
A 2014 UK study by Mindlab International on behalf of MusicWorks discovered that 88% of people had improved accuracy and 81% completed their fastest work when music was playing in the background. There was also a positive correlation found with productivity when listening to music, as 9 in 10 people performed better.
So what actually happens in our brains when we listen to music? It activates the reward system in our brain that releases dopamine - which is linked to feelings of pleasure. The same hormone is released when we ingest caffeine and sugar. One study tracked participants’ brains, and found that dopamine release was strongest during ‘peak emotional response’ to the music. Attending live concerts is a good example of this, as the emotional response is amplified through social connection and shared physical space. On a smaller scale, just listening to music on Spotify can ‘wake up’ the brain in the same way.
Listening to music during work can therefore train your brain to associate working with a positive reward, as it has a knock-on effect on your mental well-being too. This is especially useful for people working from home, when water cooler chats and team lunches can’t provide the usual stimulus needed to be productive and get things done.
Finding a rhythm in repetition
Doing tasks that don’t require a lot of creativity or abstract thinking, such as data entry or taking notes, are found to benefit hugely from music. Research has found that listening to music whilst doing repetitive tasks can aid productivity and efficiency. This is found to be true even when working in less than desirable conditions, such as constant machine noise.
These findings do make sense - after all, if your job is repetitive and boring, then listening to upbeat music can help you stay motivated and engaged. Your brain can deal with the task better that way as it has something else to focus on.
On the other side of the spectrum, jobs that require more complex thinking and creativity would do better with down tempo beats, or simpler music that won’t distract you. A study has shown that complex music can distract from tasks that need high degrees of concentration, such as processing complicated information, writing, or learning a new language.
If music can indeed improve productivity, it raises some interesting questions: What kind of music has the biggest impact? Which tasks fare better while listening?
Does genre matter?
If there’s anything we can all agree on, it is that listening to music you like will make a bigger impact than listening to music you don’t like.
A small study shows an increased performance while listening to preferred music as opposed to non-preferred music. This is probably a no-brainer to many of us, as music you find noisy or boring will only serve to distract you from your work. But are there some genres that are better than others?
There is no one-size-fits-all for any genre, but there are certain types of music you should probably avoid if you want to get tasks done - especially if they take a lot of creativity and brain power.
One study found that listening to “familiar vocal music” led to a decrease in work performance. In other words, listening to music that you can sing along to can be distracting. There’s also evidence that listening to pop songs might even count as “multitasking”, as your brain tries to switch context between focus on the task at hand or the song.
In short, music that you know well and that gets you dancing and singing are welcome for karaoke nights. Otherwise, get work done by listening to music that you like, but that isn’t too familiar or lyric-heavy.
Music as background noise
Music doesn’t just include songs on your Spotify playlist. People have found white noise and nature sounds effective to aid sleep and productivity. While there has not been a great deal of research on background noise, some recent studies offer interesting clues.
One study found that moderate levels of background noise, such as a ceiling fan or running fridge, had a positive impact on productivity for creative tasks as opposed to silence. This was echoed in a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, with the key takeaway being that low levels of ambient noise can actually distract a person just enough to think broadly. In other words, limited background noise seems to increase productivity and creativity, but high levels of noise will impair thinking.
Many productivity apps provide nature sounds, such as ocean waves and jungle noises, to boost concentration and productivity. A small study found lower stress levels in those who listened to nature sounds compared to silence or classical music. Stress reduction may improve productivity, so in this case nature sounds can help improve your workrate. More conclusive research needs to be done, but the findings so far suggest a correlation between background noise and an increase in productivity.
In short, ambient noise is a good option for those who get easily distracted by music, and find it difficult to focus with deafening silence. In times when going to the coffee shop for a few hours isn’t a convenient option anymore, it serves as a practical substitute to knuckle down and focus at home.
Listen to tunes you like
As it turns out, there’s still much research to be done on the effects of music on productivity. Everyone has different musical tastes and different tasks they perform at work, but being mindful about pairing the right music for the right tasks can boost productivity levels.
That being said, the best way to research is to find out yourself: try listening to different genres and see what works best. Having limited access to coffee shops and public spaces shouldn’t stop us from doing our best work. Finding the right kind of music that works for you can help you stay focused and productive, despite the uncertainty of our times.