Does music help you focus? The right kind can. The wrong kind costs you.
It can. But 65 studies on reading put lyrics at the bottom of everything tested, and the same sound that lifts one person’s attention can drag down the next person’s. So the real question is which music, for you, for this task. That’s the question Hum was built to answer.
Four findings that should change what you press play on
65 studies, and lyrics came last
Researchers pooled 65 studies on background sound and reading. Music with lyrics got in the way more than anything else they measured, more than speech, more than noise. Words fight words.
The same sound, opposite results
A review of 13 studies found white and pink noise lifted attention on lab tasks for people with ADHD or many ADHD traits, and pulled it down for people without attention difficulties. One sound for everybody was never going to work.
16 pulses a second
In a 2024 study in Communications Biology, people who reported more ADHD traits did better over time when their music pulsed at 16 Hz. Hum puts that pulse in your hands, with the rate on screen.
1,007 adults, one bedtime habit
A Cochrane review of 13 trials and 1,007 adults with insomnia found people rated their sleep better with music at bedtime. A good day of focus starts the night before.
What to look for in focus music
- No words. Every note in Hum is wordless, from the first to the last.
- Nothing to sing along to. Hum can write its music live as it plays, in five styles, so there’s no chorus stuck in your head.
- Made for the task. Reading a contract isn’t answering email. Pick from 19 activities, and the music, the level, the pulse and the noise change to fit.
- Made for you. A few questions on how you work and how often you lose focus, and Hum sets the sound around your answers. Noise only goes in when your answers call for it.
- A reason for everything. Every setting shows why it was chosen and how strong the evidence is. We couldn’t find that at any of the four apps we compared.
- It tests itself on you. Hum alternates two setups over your rated sessions and keeps the new one only if it clearly wins. Your ears decide, not an average.
Revising for exams? Here’s how Hum sets up a study session. Running your own business? Here’s how it fits your week.
Questions
Does music help you focus?
It can, and it depends on the music and on you. Lyrics came out worst in a review of 65 studies on reading, and noise lifted attention for people with ADHD traits while lowering it for others. Wordless music, set for your task and for you, is the place to start.
Do lyrics make it harder to focus?
When you’re reading, yes. In that same review, music with lyrics got in the way more than speech, noise or other music. Words fight words, so for anything involving language, go wordless.
What’s the best music for studying and deep work?
Music with no words, low in the mix, with nothing you’ll want to sing along to, and set for what you’re doing. Hum asks a few questions, then sets the music, the level, the pulse and the noise for you, and tells you why.
Is lo-fi good for focus?
Wordless lo-fi clears the biggest hurdle: no lyrics. What a playlist can’t do is change for your task, set a pulse for you or read your ratings. Hum does all three.
Does music help with ADHD?
This is where the research gets most interesting. Across 13 studies, mostly in young people, white and pink noise lifted attention on lab tasks for people with ADHD or many ADHD traits, and a 2024 study found people reporting more ADHD traits did better over time with music pulsing at 16 Hz. Hum asks how often you lose focus and sets the sound from there.
Will Hum help me focus or sleep?
That’s what it’s built for, and you can judge it by ear before you pay. Its settings draw on research into music, noise and breathing, and the science page has the numbers. Then test it on yourself: Hum’s blind test plays your next 16 focus sessions with the pulse or without it, in an order it keeps from you, and shows you how the two compared.
You’ve read enough. Press play
Answer the first question and the sound starts, with no card to hear it. If it isn’t for you, close the tab.