What’s all the noise about?
When I worked in an office, it was often very loud. People shouting ideas to one another, telephones ringing, photocopiers whirring, bells being chimed (don’t ask). It all got very distracting.
Sometimes I’d go into a different, smaller office for a change of scenery and to catch up with others in my team, but they’d often have the radio or Spotify playlists on loudly - none of the music my cup of tea and with lots of lyrics - again I found this very distracting.
In the end it got so bad, that I invested in some large headphones and wore them most of the time (even sometimes without any sound).
Instead of listening to other people talk and one sided conversations on the phone, I chose my own sounds to listen to. This was usually either rainfall or ocean sounds or tracks from movies without lyrics (my go to soundtracks are The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Avengers Endgame), but it all depended on what I was doing.
If it was focussed work like a budget or rota then it was the ambient sound of nature. If I wanted to be creative then out came the soundtracks.
Recently though I saw someone mention how much work they’d got done when they’d been listening to brown noise. I knew my nephew used to have to listen to a fan or white noise to get to sleep, but I hadn’t really come across brown noise. So, I went to listen and research.
There are a range of noise ‘colours’. This isn’t to be confused with Synethesia, which is when someone sees different colours when hearing sound, but instead has to do with different frequencies that are played. We have white, brown (named not for a colour but for Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist), blue, pink, orange, red, grey and even black noise.
Each colour has different frequencies and because all of our ears are different, some will be more pleasant than others to us. For some we’ll find white noise the best for concentration, whilst others will prefer brown or pink. Sleep might come easier whilst we listen to white noise which may not help so much with reducing anxiety. It really is each to their own.
I’ve created a YouTube playlist with examples of the different coloured noises, along with a few ambient sounds like rain, waves and a cafe, so that you can try it for yourself. Which do you prefer? Which helps you concentrate more? Which allows you to be more creative and which helps you sleep better? I’d love to know, so come over to The Clearing (my Facebook group) and join in the discussion.
You can also find out more about the science behind the different frequencies to each noise at https://emastered.com/blog/different-types-of-noise and how they can help at www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/pink-noise-sleep
Music or other ambient noise helps us focus by blocking out other distracting noise. Our brains are constantly on the go scanning and processing any noise we can hear, even if we’re not aware of it. This is why in a crowded party you can hear someone say your name from across the room, even if you thought you weren’t listening to that conversation.
Music can also engage the brain, modify your mood and provides a rhythm that keeps you alert. Together this can help to make the job you’re doing less dull and therefore easier to concentrate on.
Do be selective in your music or noise choice though - too relaxing and you might fall asleep, too many lyrics and you might find you’re singing along rather than working.
For me, my favourite is green noise - it’s the noise that sounds most like rain falling. The others actually annoy me as I’m waiting for something to happen. I will always choose the sounds of nature, or a very familiar piece of music so I know what’s coming. The one below is one of my favourites and helped me write several rotas and budgets!
I would love to know if you like to listen to things whilst working and if so - what? Or do you prefer silence (in which case black noise is for you).
