Listening to music while working, real or false good idea? Science has an answer and there are even some songs to avoid

2023-09-15 14:23:54

Is listening to music while working really a good idea? Scientists have an answer and even a type of music to absolutely avoid…

Listening to your favorite singer while working, is it a real or false good idea? How does music influence productivity? For many fans, music increases our effectiveness tenfold. Some even compare this phenomenon with the Mozart effect, a somewhat vague theory according to which listening to classical music makes you intelligent.

According to scientists who have looked into the issue, the effectiveness or not of playing music during work (or revisions in the case of students) depends on several elements. In particular, it is necessary to take into account the habits and personality of each person, but also the type of tasks to be carried out.

According to a study spotted by the site Business Insider for example, people perform less well on a memory task when they listen to music in the background, but they perform better when they work in silence. For revisions, ladies and gentlemen students, you will therefore have to go back.

On the other hand, listening to music can promote concentration on manual or repetitive tasks, in addition to helping to reduce stress and anxiety. Listening to music can also have an effect on your mood: the better it is, the better you will be able to work.

But for this it is necessary to favor instrumental music and ban songs with lyrics. Indeed, the lyrics of the songs, which capture the attention of your brain, tend to distract you from your task. Daniel Levitin, cognitive neuroscientist and the author of This is Your Brain on Musiceven recommends listening to music before you start work, to relax and put yourself in a better mood, but stopping the moment work begins.

The scientist assures that listening to music while working takes up part of your attention span, which means you will have fewer resources to put into your task. Enough to give pause to those who can no longer do without headphones on their ears when they work.