Concentration
A fact that has always been true for me and recently has been emphasized in times of low concentration and drowsiness: having classical music playing ambiently increases my focus and keeps me awake; and what a boon this has been!
Sleep
I think most people will be thinking that this is ironic, as pop culture associates classical music with nodding-off. However, given a decent tempo and interesting arrangement, it has always had the reverse effect for me (much to the chagrin of my younger self who was still experimenting with how to get to sleep asap).
Explanation
Based entirely on empirical evidence, I believe that this phenomenon can be attributed to concentration vs. mind wandering. Letting your mind-wandering is a fantastic way to fall asleep, so perhaps most peoples' minds wander about when they listen to classical music? Personally, I find that when listening to classical music my mind sharpens, so focusing and exploring different sides of a single idea or concept is easier and less boring to do, thus preventing mind-wandering and therefore preventing sleep and/or drowsiness.
Polyphasic Sleep
If you plan on transitioning to a polyphasic sleep lifestyle yourself, perhaps you should try playing classical music ambiently to help you through those difficult drowsy days too? Just make sure its nothing slow or droning or you'll surely find yourself cheating on your next nap.
Examples
- Amazon.com/Classical-Music-Help-Asleep-Volume
- Amazon.com/Classical-Music-Concentration-Study-Mozart
- Music composed by John Williams: if you are not looking for concentration but instead just staying awake. While prancing around like a T-Rex, whipping things with an imaginary Indiana Jones whip, or light saber fighting you dog like a padawan are all great energy boosters, but these hyper-popular tunes will constantly bombard your mind with powerful memories from movies and will surely prevent concentration on whatever it is you are trying to work on.
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