Drawing from personal experience and insights, Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Srini Pillay suggests that the key to heightened concentration lies not within a specific genre, but rather familiar music that resonates personally.
Having an array of favorites from hip-hop to classical, Dr. Pillay, a trained musician, and researcher, believes that tunes we know well, and enjoy, have a superior influence in boosting focus. According to a 2018 study, music familiarity activates numerous brain areas responsible for movement, enabling a “full-bodied” focus.
This familiar music allows Dr. Pillay to sing along, feel the rhythm, and anticipate what’s next in the song, which provides pleasure. Familiar tunes, he claims, help alleviate stress and tap into required emotions for presence, exemplified by different songs for different moods:
- Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” helps when anger needs an outlet.
- To reconcile suppressed sadness or a lack of energy, he turns to Albinoni’s “Adagio in G Minor.”
- Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is his go-to when he’s feeling angry or agitated.
- If he’s stressed, calming songs like Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” or Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” work best.
Dr. Pillay also emphasizes the significance of the listener’s pleasure curve, as one’s enjoyment of a song initially rises but then decreases as the brain becomes accustomed to it.
Research indicates that “soft-fast” music, such as Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” or Beyonce’s “Love on Top,” has the most positive impact on learning. In contrast, “loud-fast,” “soft-slow,” and “loud-slow” songs and those with lyrics could potentially disrupt learning.
Familiar music, according to Dr. Pillay, reduces stress and cortisol levels in the brain, enabling uninterrupted operation of the attention center. With the brain’s focus centers directly linked to emotion-processing regions, music that provokes emotional volatility could disrupt concentration. Conversely, suppressed emotions tend to linger in the brain, impairing focus. Music that connects you to your emotions can potentially enhance mental clarity.
Srini Pillay, M.D., a Harvard psychiatrist and brain researcher, chief medical officer, and co-founder of Reulay, CEO of NeuroBusiness Group, and the author of “Tinker Dabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind.”
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