Brain | Productivity
Dr. Andrew Huberman Reveals the 4 “Tiers” of Music
Leveraging music as a tool for productivity
Music is somewhat of a controversial topic in the world of productivity. some swear that listening to their favorite music while studying helps them focus, while others say it is distracting and you are better off doing your work in silence.
Thankfully, the science has been done and the results are in. Whether you are studying for your upcoming exam, or building your business from the ground up, here is what the experts have to say.
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a professor of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine, in his podcast, Huberman Lab, he discusses the science and science based tools that can be used to live a happier and healthier life.
In an episode of his podcast, Dr. Andrew Huberman presented the different types of music and their impact on your productivity, I have distilled them into “tiers” to help you better tailor your music strategy.
Your Favorite Music — D Tier
Sadly, listening to your favorite music is more than likely going to be a detriment to your productivity. Huberman revealed this is a performance buster as there will be too many dialogues in your head.
I suggest listening to your favorite music in between your work sessions, as revealed in the podcast, listening to your favorite music for as little as 10 minutes can have great effects on your heart and nervous system.
Instrumental Music — C Tier
This is a little better than the D tier, you could for example use this type of music when doing tedious, non-important tasks.
Fast Instrumental Music — B Tier
Fast instrumental music, this type music is good for getting motivated and excited to work, Huberman explained that listening to music of around 140bpm for 10 minutes can get you motivated to do cognitive and physical work.
No Music — A Tier
That’s right, the best type of music for focus and productivity is no music at all.
But that’s not the end of the story, the podcast revealed that music can be an important tool, so based on everything we have learned this is what I think is the best strategy:
- Work in complete silence.
- Listen to your favorite music in between bouts of work — bonus points if its between 140–150bpm.
- Listen to music throughout the day for the positive impacts on your heart and nervous system.
Hope this article helped.
Thanks for reading.
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