Have you found yourself spending most of your time at home even during the work period after the spread of the Corona virus, and being exposed to many distractions that make you lose your focus? You’re not alone! Adults with ADHD may find it more difficult to focus with such distractions than others. One of the proposed treatments to keep these people focused for long periods while carrying out their tasks is white noise, so what is its effect on maintaining focus? Read the following lines for more details.

The relationship between white noise and ADHD

The researchers correlated existing information about white noise with a concept called stochastic resonance, which literally translates to “random resonance” and refers to random sound or noise that increases signal transmission, and then correlated this information with the signals of neurons in the brain.

People with ADHD have lower rates of transmission of neural signals in the brain than those without, and these researchers wondered about the possibility of certain types of sounds affecting these signals and improving symptoms, and they did a lot of research on this concept.

Most of the research that has been conducted focused mainly on children in the primary and middle stages of schooling, however, it seems that the results of this research can be applied to adolescents, and adults as well, and it is likely that there is a benefit to white noise to increase the concentration of these people while carrying out important tasks at home.

research supporting the theory

Here is some research on children and teens with ADHD and the effect of white noise on them:

Effect of white noise on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

In a small Belgian study of 30 children between the ages of 7 and 12, 13 with ADHD and 17 without, these children were given a set of memory and verbal tasks to be completed with the Intended noises, other than not playing any kind of sounds.

The results of this study showed the following:

• Children with ADHD performed tasks better during the white noise playing period than during the quiet period.
• Children without ADHD showed the opposite, performing tasks better in the quiet period.

Based on the previous results, the researchers concluded that there is a benefit for white noise in improving the performance of ADHD children in the tasks assigned to them, in addition to noting the improvement in those who were taking medication to treat the disorder, and those who did not take the medication.

They also found that the effect of this noise only improved attention, but did not affect hyperactivity.

The effect of white noise on academic focus

Another small study was conducted to find out the effect of this type of noise on the concentration of children with ADHD during the study without doing any side behaviors or activities. , unlike wearing headphones just to block out external sounds.

The effect of different types of noise on the academic performance of adolescents

In this study, the researchers tested the abilities of 52 adolescents on reading and writing accuracy while being exposed to different types of noise, whether white noise or chattering sounds, and found the following results:

• Adolescents who listened to white noise performed better. They took less time to read the task and wrote more words for the essay. However, the noise did not improve academic accuracy (the quality and validity of the information).
• Teens who listened to the babbling voices found it difficult to read and complete the tasks.

Based on the results, the researchers found that white noise improved reading time and writing ability, but did not improve academic accuracy.

White noise in our daily lives

We conclude from what was mentioned in this article, that white noise may be effective in restoring focus for people who suffer from hyperactivity and distraction in certain situations and tasks, and they can obtain these sounds from various sources such as surrounding devices, phone applications, or audio clips spread on Internet.

However, if you find it difficult to focus even with white noise, turn it off, don’t force yourself into what you don’t find comfortable, and find other things that help you focus better.