It was a well-known fact that music improves productivity and in particular at for me, the sound of heavy rain and distance thunder.
Whenever I am going to work on some deep, complex issues that need me to check sheets over sheets of spreadsheets and need to add formulas all of the place, I will put on the headphones and put my favourite collection of music so that I can focus.
My favourite playlist, however, will differ from week to week depending on what my mood swing for the week is. For example, three weeks ago, I was hooked with Alan Tam’s Friend of Mine (Cantonese song back in the 1980s) – playing over and over again the whole day. The week after was Alizee J’en Ai Marre (French song). In between before and after is a string of Tamil songs ranging from the oldies (MSV) to Ilaiyaraja and to the latest AR Rahman. (P.s. There is a separate playlist for the highway such as this U2’s hit.)
Science has proven that music improves productivity, quality of work, reduces stress, etc. It is a known fact backed by real results.
A more recent study tracked 56 software engineers as they worked either in silence or while listening to different types of music. It found an increase in both mood and quality of work while listening to music.
In other words, music made these programmers happier (like the original Mozart Effect) but also increased the quality of their work.
(Source)
And this
When you listen to music you enjoy, the brain releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes you feel good, and reduces stress and anxiety.
At the end of the study, the researchers discovered that the patients who listened to music experienced less anxiety and lower cortisol levels than patients who took anti-anxiety drugs.
(Source)
And this Youtube video is amazing as well – I loved the mist through the forest
This week is just the sound of rain and thunderstorm – I have put on repeat mode from morning till evening – nothing more, nothing less. It helps that presently Malaysia is having its annual monsoon season and thus it is raining on an almost daily basis. So the environment gets very chill especially when it rains heavily at night.
Why just the sound of rain & thunder as the background music can get you into a Zen state of mind?
Some people have suggested that another reason why we love the sounds of rain is due to the womb element. From the moment of conception, we are all in a womb surrounded by water.
The sound of rain, may somehow subconsciously, act as a soothing component. Another reason can be connected to sounds actually operating on waves frequencies.
These periodic vibrations, whose frequency is audible to the average human, can inherently cause or minds to relax. They also help us release stress. This helps explain why our brains tend to become distracted and entertained by the sounds of raindrops falling.
(Source)
For me, it simply brings back memories of warmth feelings
Image you in a dark forest and it is raining rather heavily with sounds of thunder. It is wet, cold and depressing all over the place except where you are standing. You are standing under the tent, covered yourself with thick warm blanket and next to a campfire. You noticed a stool near the fire. You sit down facing the fire and you have a hot cup of coffee in your hand.
The rain started to get heavier – you can hear every drop of rain falling on the tent. You close your eyes and just listen to the sound of the raindrops. Occasionally you hear claps of the thunder in the distance misty mountain.
There’s how one gets into a Zen state of mind.