Is Music Helping Creativity Sing or Sink?

When it comes to thinking creatively, why is it that some people crave background music while others must have silence?

It’s commonplace for employees to listen to Pandora stations and iPods all day while working in their office cubicles. At OstermanCron, a Sirius radio plays around the showroom to create a welcoming environment for our customers and staff. However on the other hand, some employees select the office desk furthest away from the music and prefer silence. Here’s why:

A professor of neuroscience at McGill University recently cracked the code. He discovered that our brain has two different modes while working- either paying very close attention or daydreaming; jumping from thought to thought. When we listen to music, our mind goes into this “mind wandering mode” and this is when our creativity peaks.

Here’s an example of this phenomenon: Have you ever been working on a problem and thinking extremely hard, yet no answers come? Then hours later, when you’re not even thinking about it, viola! The solution to this mind-numbing problem magically pops into your head. This is similar to how our mind’s creativity works while listening to music.

Music has even been found to play a crucial role in the healthcare world. Picture yourself in a hospital room on the day of your surgery. Surrounding you is typical healthcare furniture, a heart rate monitor, side table, etc. Suddenly your surgeon walks in, wheeling in his medical equipment… and a radio! Not exactly the accessory atop the healthcare furnishings you imagined.

However, it’s said that many surgeons perform better when there is music playing, as it lowers stress levels and increases focus. In fact, Yahoo Health recently reported that about 72% of operations have music softly playing in the background!

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re the type that prefers your office design music-free, that’s fine- do what works best for you. Kimball Office offers a variety of office partitions with unique acoustical solutions for people who prefer peace and quiet. Whether you love or hate whistling while you work, music certainly plays its own prominent role in the workplace and that’s loud and clear.