Have you ever found yourself sitting at your desk
staring blankly at the screen,
unable to focus on the task at hand?
Imagine feeling like this most of the time.
This is a daily reality for many people
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
also called ADHD.
I'm Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist,
and I make mental health education videos.
ADHD is called a neurodevelopmental disorder
because it affects how your brain develops.
It causes problems like inattention, hyperactivity
and impulsivity.
Many people with ADHD have other problems
with executive functions such as working memory,
time management, task organization and planning.
Concentration can be especially challenging,
and things that require sustained attention
can feel impossible.
These problems are not related at all to intelligence
or even desire but a difference in how the ADHD brain works.
Researchers have found that white noise
and possibly brown and pink noise
improve cognitive performance in people with ADHD.
White noise is a type of noise
that is produced by combining sounds
of all different frequencies together.
White noise sounds like a constant sh
because all of the sound frequencies
are played back at the same amplitude.
Examples of white noise are TV or radio static,
a running vacuum, the hiss of steam.
Since white noise contains all sound frequencies,
it can mask other sounds,
and this can be useful to block distracting noises
in your environment.
Pink noise, on the other hand,
is a blend of high and low frequencies
that produces sounds similar to nature.
When you hear it, it sounds more balanced,
not too high pitched and not too deep,
but somewhere in the middle.
Some examples of pink noise are rainfall, rustling trees
and ocean waves.
These sounds tend to be calming and relaxing,
which can help with sleep,
which is essential to optimal cognitive function.
Brown noise, also called Brownian noise,
has more energy at lower frequencies,
and as a result, it sounds deeper and more intense
than white or pink noise.
It's named after Robert Brown,
the scientist who discovered Brownian motion.
This type of noise can be particularly soothing,
potentially aiding in relaxation and concentration.
Examples of this noise are thunder
and the deep roar of a powerful waterfall.
White noise has been studied the most
when it comes to showing real improvement in cognition.
Pink and brown noise don't have as much research backing
when it comes to ADHD,
but they're generally regarded as relaxing and soothing,
which then has secondary positive effects
on your focus and concentration.
Keep in mind
that not everyone responds as positively to these sounds
and may find them distracting or irritating.
So all of this sounds good.
What's the science behind it?
I'm glad you asked.
The working theory is that if you have low dopamine levels
in the regions of your brain associated with attention,
white noise produces stochastic resonance
in the neurotransmitter system, which increases dopamine.
- What? Speak English.
- I'll explain.
Stochastic resonance is a phenomenon
where if you have a weak signal and introduce white noise,
since the white noise has all of the frequencies,
the weak signal can pair up its frequency
with the matching one in the white noise,
and then they resonate together,
making the weaker signal stronger.
So how does this affect your brain?
In your ADHD brain, you have this weak dopamine signal
that makes it hard for you to sustain attention.
Your hearing nerve is located inside of your brain.
It detects the white noise
which has sound and energy frequencies
that resonate with the energy of your neurons.
That resonance helps push out more dopamine
out of your nerves.
That's the simplified explanation.
I include all of this detail just to show you
that there is real science here.
It's more than simply
blocking out distracting noises for you.
It's actually thought to increase dopamine production.
It's amazing to think that the right kind of sound
can help you click in and think like you need to
to get things done.
Now, is this effect better than medicine?
Probably not.
But addressing attention issues
doesn't have to be either or.
You may find that this works sometimes
with or without taking your medication.
And just as the effect of medication can decrease over time,
studies show that people can become tolerant
to the effect of listening to the sounds for a long time.
You may be able to offset that
by varying what you listen to.
I mentioned that white noise has been studied the most,
but there are anecdotal reports of brown and pink noise
helping people as well.
Anecdotal means that the experiences or data
hasn't been rigorously tested under controlled conditions,
but
if you add brown or pink noise into your repertoire,
you'll have more options to choose from.
I think with everything mental health,
it's not about finding the one thing
that will solve all of your problems.
There is no one thing that does everything.
Not even pills take care of everything.
Instead, it's about layering different approaches
so you can benefit from the cumulative effect
of these different options.
I hope this information
gives you another useful item in your toolkit.
There are lots of apps that provide these sounds,
and there are certainly white noise machines
that you can use in your room
if you find that you like it,
and you don't want to have to keep an app running
on your phone.
Check out these videos for more on ADHD.
Thanks for watching.
See you next time.