Music or no music while working/studying?

[ProductiveSensei]

Does music help you guys focus when doing work or do you work better with no music? Binural beats/adhd music i'm referring to by the way.

[STEM_Dad]

Yes, and no. I'd have to say "most of the time".

For me, it varies on the individual situation. Often, some music will help, usually instrumental music, sometimes music with lyrics, sometimes binaural beats. I've found that music with a prominent "beat" sound (ticks and traps) can be distracting after the first few minutes.

• I have to keep changing it up. One type of music might work for me for months, and then become distracting or just not feel right. A year ago, I was very much into epic movie scores (mostly from Marvel Cinematic Universe), and made a couple of long YouTube playlists...but I haven't touched those lists in months.

At one point in time (the period any 1-3 years before my ADHD diagnosis), I played a lot of TED Talks as my "background noise" to work by.

Lately, I haven't been playing much music at work. However, my 10 year old son likes to put on music or YouTuber channels (from video game streamers and cartoon content creators) for "background noise" much of the weekend, and that works for me. (I'm certain that he has mild Combined Presentation ADHD, but he hasn't been diagnosed yet.)

[Ampersand1]

Generally speaking, music without words or songs that I can vibe to are great for helping me focus. I read about binaural sounds and definitely see there is some sort of scientific backing, but if you don't enjoy what you're hearing, it will do more to distract you than provide benefit imo. Lo-Fi girl on YouTube or Above and Beyond Group Therapy podcasts or Monstercat are some of my go-to's. I usually have to change stations to something else though after I get a little tired of hearing the same type music for an hour or so, so it's good to try different tunes and see what you prefer in order to rotate accordingly.

[Wasted71years]

For enjoyment I mostly listen to rock and some show tunes, but if I am trying to get something done the only music that seems to not distract me is Mozart.