White Noise

[Possegal]

i'm in the 'tv as white noise' crowd. i work at home a couple days a week, and it is not mindless work, i write and review scientific data. but i find having the tv on in the background helps. i may watch a bit, but mostly it is just there to keep me company i guess. though i will confess to being the expert in the anna nicole smith baby drama back when it was on court tv 24/7. everyone in the office knew to ask me for any details.

[RoadRaven]

Its really interesting to wonder how some people can study with background noise.

I think in part it might come down to my earlier comment.
We are raising our children, and some of us have been raised ourselves, with constant background noise - such as TV or radio always on.

To suddenly have silence is actually a distraction.

[Possegal]

i'm the youngest of six, i am not sure i've ever heard this silence of which you speak.

[RoadRaven]

LOL - I have 5 kids - not sure if they know what I mean either!


However, we do have big chunks of the day with no TV, radio or stereo.

[Kimmyt]

When I was in college I couldn't study with music with lyrics. Music without lyrics was better, it helped to take the focus off of random noises like people turning pages, clearing their throats, etc. When I am really trying to focus and it's dead quiet, and there's some sort of slight repetitive noise, my mind latches onto it, so the instrumental music helped block that out. Jazz was the best, if it was laidback and not too intense, classical okay too, but nothing too bombastic.

When I try to go to sleep noise really gets to me, even the repetitive call of a bird outside my window or something will drive me nuts. I used to use a fan for this reason, but I've weaned myself off of it now. The other night I turned on a late-night new-age/fusion music show and it sent me to sleep nicely, but that was probably also cause I was dead tired.

K.

[emily_in_nc]

When I am working in our lab at work (debugging software problems), I can deal with conversations in the periphery, but let someone turn on music or a video on a computer a couple of aisles away, and I simply cannot concentrate AT ALL. Debugging software just takes all my brainpower, and I find myself getting very irritable if there are video or even music noises (classical music might be okay, but music with lyrics is no good). However, at home, if I am just hanging out on the computer as I am now, reading forums, writing emails, online shopping or research, the TV is often on (as now, DH is watching football), and it doesn't bother me a bit. It's all a matter of how much mental concentration I need to do. Above a certain threshold, TV/music is a definite distraction.

I also think that as I have gotten older, that threshold/tolerance has decreased. I used to be able to do homework/study with the radio on, no problem, but as I've gotten older, I need quiet to be at my best mentally.

Emily

[Zen]

. The other night I turned on a late-night new-age/fusion music show and it sent me to sleep nicely, but that was probably also cause I was dead tired.

Steve Roach is great for that.