The special “work flow” music in the study was sourced from a similarly named playlist in a music therapy app – characterised by strong rhythm, simple tonality, moderate dynamism, and a distributed spectral energy below 6000 hertz.
“We show that instrumental music intentionally composed to support focus and concentration during work – comprising strong rhythm, simple tonality, broad spectral energy, and moderate dynamism – improves mood and increases processing speed during a cognitively demanding task,” they wrote.
Four groups of participants with about 50 individuals each performed the flanker task as they listened to four different types of music, including those advertised to support “work flow” and “deep focus”.
In the latest study, scientists compared the effects of four different sets of music on the mood and performance of nearly 200 participants during a cognitively demanding test called the "flanker task".
Scientists found that listening to work flow music had significant improvements in participants’ self reported mood from before to after the flanker task.
