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- Music improves attention and focus. The temporal and rhythmic properties of music are thought to modulate some symptoms of inattentiveness. Playing, or learning to play an instrument, can also help develop skills needed for sustaining attention, alternating attention, impulse control, and decision-making.
- Music reinforces memory. Attaching information to lyrics and melody helps children — with and without ADHD — remember important items. Try teaching phone numbers, addresses, chores, and procedures (like washing hands or tying shoes) to the tune of your child’s favorite songs.
- Music acts as a study aid. For some students, listening to music while studying works well because it keeps the brain activated, focused, and less prone to distractions.
- Music helps keep track of time. Time blindness is common with ADHD, and music helps build time perception and awareness skills. Rather than have your child do homework or chores to the beat of a timer, try playing a song or timed playlist.
- Overview
- What to listen to
- White noise may also help
- Same with binaural beats
- What you shouldn’t listen to
- Keeping expectations realistic
- The bottom line
Listening to music can have a range of effects on your health. Maybe it boosts your mood when you’re feeling down or energizes you during a workout.
For some, listening to music also helps with maintaining focus. This has led some to wonder whether music can help people who have ADHD, which can cause difficulties with concentration and focus.
Turns out, they may be on to something.
A 2011 study looking at 41 boys with ADHD found evidence to suggest classroom performance improved for some boys when they listened to music while they worked. Still, music seemed to be distracting for some of the boys.
Experts still recommend that people with ADHD try to avoid as many distractions as possible, but it appears that some people with ADHD may benefit from listening to certain music or sounds.
Read on to learn how to use music for boosting your focus and concentration.
Music relies on structure and the use of rhythm and timing. Since ADHD often involves difficulty with tracking timing and duration, listening to music might help improve performance in these areas.
Listening to music you enjoy can also increase dopamine, a neurotransmitter. Certain ADHD symptoms may be linked to lower dopamine levels.
When it comes to music for ADHD symptoms, some types of music may be more helpful for promoting concentration. Aim for calm, medium-tempo music with easy-to-follow rhythms.
Consider trying out some classical composers, such as:
•Vivaldi
•Bach
White noise refers to steady background noise. Think of the sound produced by a loud fan or a piece of machinery.
While loud or sudden sounds can disrupt concentration, ongoing quiet sounds may have the opposite effect for some people with ADHD.
A 2007 study looked at cognitive performance in children with and without ADHD. According to the results, children with ADHD performed better on memory and verbal tasks while listening to white noise. Those without ADHD didn’t perform as well when listening to white noise.
A more recent study from 2016 compared the benefits of white noise with stimulant medication for ADHD. The participants, a group of 40 children, listened to white noise rated at 80 decibels. That’s roughly the same noise level as typical city traffic.
Listening to white noise seemed to improve memory task performance in children with ADHD who were taking stimulant medication as well as those who weren’t.
While this was a pilot study, not a randomized control trial study (which are more reliable), the results suggest that using white noise as a treatment for certain ADHD symptoms either on its own or with medication may be a promising area for further research.
Binaural beats are a type of auditory beat stimulation believed by some to have many potential benefits, including improved concentration and increased calm.
A binaural beat happens when you listen to a sound at a certain frequency with one ear and a sound at a different but similar frequency with your other ear. Your brain produces a sound with the frequency of the difference between the two tones.
A very small 2010 pilot study of 20 children with ADHD did yield some promising results. The study looked at whether listening to audio with binaural beats a few times per week could help reduce inattention compared to audio without binaural beats.
While the results suggest that binaural beats didn’t have a big impact on inattention, participants in both groups reported having fewer difficulties completing their homework due to inattention during the three weeks of the study.
Research on binaural beats, particularly on their use to improve symptoms of ADHD, is limited. But many people with ADHD have reported increased concentration and focus when listening to binaural beats. They may be worth trying if you’re interested.
You can find free recordings of binaural beats, like the one below, online.
While listening to certain music and sounds might help with concentration for some people, other types can have the opposite effect.
If you’re trying to improve your focus while studying or working on a task, you may have better results if you avoid the following:
•music without a clear rhythm
•music that’s abrupt, loud, or heavy
•extremely fast-paced music, such as dance or club music
•songs you really like or really hate (thinking about how much you love or hate a song can disrupt your concentration)
Generally, people with ADHD have an easier time focusing when they aren’t surrounded by any distractions, including music.
In addition, a 2014 meta-analysis of existing studies about the impact of music on ADHD symptoms concluded that music appears to be only minimally beneficial.
Music may have benefits beyond personal enjoyment, including increased focus and concentration for some people with ADHD.
There isn’t a ton of research on the topic just yet, but it’s an easy, free technique you can try out the next time you need to get through some work.
- Crystal Raypole
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- Traci Pedersen
Methods based on music therapy, such as musical performance or listening to music, have reportedly reduced symptoms in Parkinson disease , brain damage, schizophrenia , substance use, posttraumatic stress disorder , and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and ADHD . Music therapy is mainly applied in two possible modalities: (1) “active” music therapy when the ...
Jan 24, 2019 · Music therapy for ADHD/Anxiety. Music can cause an immediate positive effect on a childn’s motor and emotional responses, especially when the child is asked to move along to the music, which opens up their sensory pathways. When a child is asked to play an instrument, this act stimulates their brain senses and relaxes the muscles.
Mar 25, 2024 · Does music help with ADHD? Music therapy has been increasingly recognized for its potential to support symptoms related to psychiatric, neurological, and neurodevelopmental conditions. It can be applied in either an 'active' modality, when participants use musical instruments or their own voices to perform, or a 'passive' modality, which involves participants listening to the music.
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Apr 19, 2023 · Music therapy can be a very effective treatment for treating the core symptoms of ADHD and other disorders that often co occur, such as anxiety and sleep issues. Music therapy uses rhythm and music to improve social skills, emotion regulation and executive dysfunction, and is often used in combination with other treatments, such as medication
