I listened to a podcast about focus and productivity on YouTube today. One thing it talked about was a method of bringing distractibility down while helping to bring you into flow, or a state of increased focus. The presenter went on to talk about something called “neural entrainment,” which I’d never heard of. Apparently, it can occur when “something that’s rhythmic [harmonizes] with brain waves, which forces you into a state of more focus.” It could be triggered by movement, motion, or sound.

Sound neural entrainment caught my attention because it reminded me of conversations I’ve had with some of the most talented people I’ve worked with about their work style. Several of them listen to certain types of rhythmic music (no voices) when they’re doing focused work. This pattern jumped out to me every time I heard it because I don’t listen to music when I work.

After listening to this video, I now realize that those people may have been leveraging neural entrainment (whether they knew it or not). This made me want to try it. Luckily for me, the video mentioned Brain.fm, a company focused on playing music that’s personalized  (based on neuroscience) that helps you focus intensely. Think Pandora or Spotify, but meant to help you focus. I did some research, and it seems that Brain.fm works especially well for people with ADHD.

I’m always looking for ways to improve, and this neural-entrainment idea sparked my curiosity. So, I signed up for a 30-day trial of Brain FM. I can’t wait to see if the platform helps get me into a state of focus more easily and keeps me there. If you’re interested in listening to or watching the entire video, you can check it out here.