Ambient Sounds: How Background Noise Can Affect Your Focus
For some people, silence at work is golden; for others, not so much. If you’re one of the latter, you’ll be happy to know that listening to ambient sounds while working can indeed help you focus and stay productive. And it has the added benefit of reducing tension and stress.
What are ambient sounds?
Ambient sound is “music intended to serve as an unobtrusive accompaniment to other activities (as in a public place) and characterized especially by quiet and repetitive instrumental melodies.”
Most people also refer to this as white noise; though white noise is more accurately defined as “random noise that has a flat spectral density — that is, the noise has the same amplitude, or intensity, throughout the audible frequency range (20 to 20,000 hertz). White noise is so named because it’s analogous to white light, which is a mixture of all visible wavelengths of light.”
Anything from rainfall to music to an electric fan to people talking nearby are all examples of ambient sounds.
Pros and cons of ambient sounds while working
Research suggests it’s best to listen to music when you’re doing mundane or repetitive jobs at work. In these cases, music helps prevent boredom and keeps your attention engaged on the task at hand. Music and ambient sounds trigger a chemical reaction and an emotional response in your brain that can be a therapeutic tool. How great is it that we can destress and be productive at the same time?
On the other hand, there are also those that prefer to work in as quiet a space as possible. The slightest noise distracts them. This is especially true for those that often have to think analytically at work. This is because while music does help relieve stress, your brain also makes an effort to process the information. So music may divert your attention from work.
Since we all differ in habits and preferences, there’s no one right answer to the question “are we more productive when listening to audio while working?” While there is science to support the idea, there is also data showing that others find it the opposite. Try working with or without ambient sounds to find out what works best for you.
6 useful apps for ambient sounds
Here are a few apps to help you figure out which you prefer when.
Brain.fm employs a science-first method, with AI-generated audio to help you concentrate, relax, or sleep. Their music technology is supported by neuroscience and cognitive research.
There are 5 free sessions; afterwards, it’s a monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription.
Calm was selected as Apple’s 2017 App of the Year. It has five selections corresponding to various activities. You can listen to guided audio and video meditations, music tracks to keep you focused, and stories to help you sleep.
Free trial for 7 days. One-year subscription for $59.99.
As one of the earlier ambient sound apps, Coffitivity is pretty well known. It’s also easy to use. Its main audio feature is the chatter and ambience you might find at your favorite coffee shop.
Coffitivity is free to use and download. If you’d like other sound options, they’re available for purchase in the app.
Focus@will features scientifically optimized, professionally made audio for your productivity. It is subscription-based, available for individuals and teams.
You can also set a timer to track how productive you’ve been.
It keeps track of what sounds you’ve been listening to, and will later recommend audio you can add to your roster.
Log on via the web app, then download the Android, iOS or Sonos app. Subscribe monthly for $8.99 or yearly for $299.95. Team plan subscriptions depend on the number of members that will be using the app.
Noisli also works as a sound mix: set the audio elements that you’d like to listen to and adjust as you please. You can also select from the Random, Productivity, or Relax options and audio will play at random depending on your setting.
Free web app and Chrome extension. iOS and Android apps are OTP $1.99.
Mix and match different ambient sounds with Noizio’s equalizer. You can also save the mix that you’ve recorded to replay for later.
Noizio has a vast collection of ambient sounds.
Available on Mac OS (OTP of $4.99), iOS and Android (free to download, with in-app purchases).
Aside from these apps, ambient sounds playlists are also available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud. However, these don’t have the apps’ additional features, like productivity timers and recommended audio.
Our recommendation on ambient sounds
Whether you prefer to work with music playing in the background, the hum of mild conversations around you, or in complete silence, we support you. We do, however, recommend listening to ambient sounds if:
You find yourself a bit sleepy or lazy in the mornings.
You’ve set up shop in a busy coffee shop.
The office crowd is a bit chatty at the moment.
At LOFT, we like to maintain an ambience of productivity with a bit of mood music in the background. It’s definitely going to be quieter than the average coffee shop. With a workspace dedicated to focus, you’re guaranteed to have a productive time!