140 Brains Per Minute: Study’s show dance music boost productivity
A number of studies, one specifically by Dr. David Lewis working with MusicWorks and Mindlab International, showed data that 81% of people work faster and more efficiently when music is playing, compared to when music is not.
“music is a powerful management tool if you want to increase not only the efficiency of your workforce but also their mental and emotional state”
Due to the higher BPM and mental stimulation caused by it, our beloved dance music resulted in the highest ratios of accuracy and speed when answering math equations, and abstract reasoning tasks. It’s believed that the fast pace cadence of dance music creates a rhythm within ones thought process, accelerating one’s normal analyzation and execution process to the speed of the rhythm.
But what do those scientist’s know?
Personally, I pay homage to EDM on how it got me through college. I’ve been blessed most of my life, never having to really try, to excel in my studies. Year after year, I’d breeze through classes with top marks, without a moment of planning, studying, or honestly, effort at all. Then came college. Still so, even while binge drinking 6 nights a week and distracted everything by “college”, I still breezed through my first two years; blaring EDM, starting a business within the industry (Shout out to those who remember Ready2Rage), and metaphorically (at times literally), moon walked through it all with a smile. But when it came time to really buckle down and actually STUDY, I was left wide-eyed and lost.
I knew it was the big building at the end of campus, but I had no clue how to even begin studying in this “Library” everyone always talked about. Eventually, I found a desk, and opened my study guide, quickly to realize, I had an attention span of roughly 4.7 seconds. After 2 hours, 10/100 problems were completed and I figured I’d just quit school right then and there. Flash forward two days, to the same situation, this time, with headphones and “Steve Aoki” Radio on Pandora.
As mentioned above, the melodic intro’s, the beating buildups and the fast paced rhythm’s took me into another world of focus. “1,2 WOOP WOOP!”. The simplest way to explain the sensation, was that all that undivided attention which used to wander away and have me think about skittles, baseball, Nickelodeon slime, and everything you can imagine; was now occupied by these repetitive beats and drops. Granted, I’d occasional have to pause and fist pump, but within the same 2 hours, the final 90 study guide problems were completed. I felt as is if unlocked a secret. My eyes, brain and hands synchronized and worked as one. Question after question, i’d bounce to the Aoki’s music & felt like a robot, cause my brain was picking things up quicker than ever before.
Flash forward to present day, I still believe in this exact method when I need to get work done, study, or in any sense, focus. Pull my headphones out of my laptop any given work day, and you’ll hear anything form Ricky Remedy trapping out to Claude Vonstroke, bringing my undivided attention to the boogie basement to dance, while the rest of my brain works. Touche EDM, making us all smart and shit.
Image Credentials: http://www.ingrid-catlin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/music-work.jpg
