Lost in the crowd and the noise

[morsla]

So, according to researchers at the University of Pavia, Relaxing music is better turned off. Their study found that while some music does help you relax, periods of silence between the tracks have more benefit... reducing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and toning down that 'fight or flight' response.

I tend to have music on constantly, only leaving my musical drip-feed for long periods when I'm out in the bush. I use music to relax, as it's often easier to slow my breathing and heart rate when there's something external to focus on... ambient tracks work well, but anything familiar will do. Maybe a compromise is in order, adding periods of silence to punctuate the noise. Covenant's "You Can Make Your Own Music" might finally have a use...

Fortunately, I can bypass the issue completely at the moment, as the last thing I need to do is relax - I'd fall asleep on my feet, and never get any work done. This morning I found a hidden cache of old Sepultura tracks, and added them to the "make Ben work faster" playlist.

I work from home, and I've had builders on my roof for the past two weeks with a hammers and a circular saw, doing their best to destroy my concentration. No idea what sort of maintenance takes two full weeks to do, but I've started retaliating with music loud enough to shake the bastards off my rooftop. When the house reverberates loudly enough to drown out builders two metres above me, I find that I can focus nicely...

So if I could I'd wish it all away
If I thought tomorrow would take you away
You're my peace of mind, my home, my center
I'm just trying to hold on
One more day

Comments

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

I get very tense when there's no music. It might adversely affect my concentration, but not the height of my shoulders... Also, in an already distracting environment, controlling the aural input seems to help.

[bishi-wannabe.livejournal.com]

I use music + earphones to pretend I'm not in a friggin' open plan office.

Development work even at the relatively primitive level I do is very difficult with a thousand phone conversations going on around you.

[aeduna.livejournal.com]

Amen