The Science of Sound: How Background Sounds Transform Your Focus

Welcome to The 1% Better Productivity Letter, your weekly dose of simple, actionable strategies to work smarter, boost focus, and build a productive life that fits you.

Today at a glance:

• How background noise impacts your brain and focus;
• The science behind music, concentration, and creative flow;
• 5 types of sounds to help you work better (and when to use each);

Noise, Focus, and the Sounds That Helped Me Work Better

Working in a corporate open space teaches you a lot.
Patience. Boundaries. Respect. And, most importantly, how to create your own little bubble of focus even when you're surrounded by noise.

Before remote work became normal, I spent most days with headphones glued to my ears, desperately trying to block out the constant chatter, phone calls, and keyboard clicking around me.

Back then, I had no clue what actually helped with focus. I'd throw on whatever was handy - a random podcast, some Taylor Swift songs, anything to drown out the noise. I just knew that having something in my ears made it easier to concentrate on whatever deadline was breathing down my neck.

Then one of my colleagues, who knew every Apple feature better than their own birthday, introduced me to something I didn’t even know that was a thing - the built-in background sounds on my iPhone. He suggested I try them during those particularly chaotic office days when I really needed to buckle down and get things done.

So I dove in and tested everything - bright noise, dark noise, ocean waves, forest sounds, crackling fire, babbling streams. For a while, I was obsessed with rain sounds because they made me feel so calm and relaxed. But I quickly realized they worked better for unwinding with a book than for writing code or smashing through a to-do list.

After months of experimenting and noticing how different sounds affected my brain and concentration levels, plus watching way too many YouTube videos about the science behind it all, I discovered there's actually a method to this madness. The right sound really does depend on the type of work you're doing.

These days, I've got my sound strategy down to a science: lo-fi beats when I'm doing creative work, writing, or planning sessions; binaural beats for deep focus work when I need to completely zone in; and brown noise when I’m overstimulated, distracted, or anxious but still need to power through something.

From Idea to Action

The science behind background sounds is actually pretty fascinating. When you're working in a noisy environment, your brain is constantly trying to process multiple streams of information at once - that conversation happening three desks over, the coffee machine gurgling, someone's phone buzzing. This creates what researchers call "cognitive overload", where your brain burns through mental energy just trying to filter out distractions instead of focusing on the actual work in front of you.

Research has found that when exposed to a nearby conversation, employees can become up to 66% less productive, which explains why those open office days felt so draining. But here's where it gets interesting - the right kind of background sound can actually help your brain focus by creating what scientists call "auditory masking". Instead of fighting against random noise, you're giving your brain something consistent and predictable to tune into, which frees up mental bandwidth for the task at hand.

Now let’s break down 5 of the most effective types of background audio and how to match them with your tasks:

🎧 Lo-fi Beats​
With chilled, looped rhythms and no vocals, lo-fi acts like white noise, but with a groove. The imperfections (vinyl crackles, soft reverb) mimic natural background sounds, which makes them soothing and non-intrusive.
​Best for: Creative tasks, writing, planning, designing.

🎧 Binaural Beats​
These work by playing two slightly different tones in each ear, creating a third sound your brain syncs to. This can boost alpha and theta waves, the ones linked to focus and creativity. Note: you’ll need headphones.​
​Best for: Deep focus, studying, problem-solving, or mentally demanding tasks.

🎧 Classical Music​
Especially from the Baroque era (think Bach, Vivaldi), this music sits around 60–80 BPM, a rhythm shown to stabilize heart rate and promote calm. It’s soothing, structured, and great for staying mentally steady without distraction.
​Best for: Reading, writing, or thinking through complex problems.

🎧 Ambient Soundscapes​
These are soft, atmospheric layers, like space sounds, wind, distant hums. They work by removing structure entirely, offering a calm and open auditory space. Great when you want to block out the world but don’t want rhythm or repetition.
​Best for: Deep work, coding, meditation, writing.

🎧 White / Brown / Pink Noise​
Brown noise (my personal go-to) is deeper than white noise, like a gentle, low rumble. It’s calming and excellent when you feel overstimulated or easily distracted. These static tones can help regulate your nervous system and provide a buffer from external chaos.
​Best for: Focus during anxious or scattered days, or when you need to reset your attention quickly.

Try This Mini Experiment

This week, pick one of these sound types and use it intentionally for a specific task - maybe your morning planning session, your writing hour, or a block of deep work. Try to stay consistent with it for a few days, and notice how your brain reacts.

Does it help you drop into focus faster? Feel calmer? Stay in flow longer?

I’d love to hear how it works for you, so hit reply to this email or DM me on Instagram and tell me what you tried (and what stuck). 🤍

Recommendation Zone

This week’s Recommendation Zone features one of my long-time favorites: The Curiosity Chronicle by Sahil Bloom.

Sahil is a former collegiate athlete turned investor and writer at Stanford, now sharing powerful, bite-sized insights in his award‑winning newsletter that’s read by over 800,000+ curious minds worldwide.

I’ve been reading The Curiosity Chronicle for months now, and each issue gives me at least one phrase or idea I save to my phone. These short essays (typically 3–8 minutes to read) feel like letters to your thoughtful self - packing nuggets of mindset shifts, time hacks, performance habits, and philosophical reminders into clean, digestible doses.

If you want something to spark your thinking and gently shake up your routine, it’s exactly the kind of newsletter that opens new doors in how you see your life, even in just a single paragraph.

Highly recommend giving it a try, it’s free and full of “aha” moments.

🌿 If you liked today’s edition, you’ll love my signature course

Because I know so many of you are in that same in-between place, with big dreams and limited hours, I finally turned all of that into something real:

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My signature course for full-time workers who are building something on the side.

It’s everything I’ve learned (the hard way) about getting things done while working a full-time job and building something of your own.

Inside the course, I teach the exact system I still use today to stay focused, consistent, and kind to myself while doing both.

You’ll learn how to:

• Build a realistic system that works for your lifestyle
• Plan your week around your actual energy (so you’re not pushing through when you’re fried)
• Use time blocking without making your calendar feel like a prison
• Focus deeply when it matters most
• Make progress every week, without burnout, guilt, or 6am alarms (unless you like those, like I do)

This isn’t about becoming a productivity robot.
It’s about building something meaningful, and still having space to live.

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Remember: productivity does not mean busyness!

Loredana xx