For a while, when I was a kid, I’d tell people I loved music – which was universally true at that time.
But, like with anything, as a child grows and forms their own opinions, my feelings about music have also changed.
I mean, before I hit double digits I’d listen to anything and everything and genuinely loved it – for the most part.
Back then I still had a distinct preference for keeping Christmas and winter-related songs for that time of the year but, otherwise, anything was fair game.
And I’m sure if you ask my mom, she’ll tell you how annoying I was when it came to Disney movies and singing along to all of those musical parts, too.
Things changed when I became a teenager and fell victim to “hating” everything my parents liked – including movies, music, books, and really anything that I could form an opinion about.
Now, those opinions were reinforced by other family members or friends, but, for the most part, formed the overall basis for my musical choices in life.
In college, I learned how limiting my musical experiences just reinforced ridiculous standards that no longer resonated with the person I was trying to be, and have since adopted the mantra of “listening to anything once.”
In fact, that mantra has also led to the weirdest curveball I’ve had in my 30s - reconnecting with songs from my childhood and early teen years that I found joy in listening to.
Now, while overall most country music makes me sleepy, there’s a niche selection from the 90s and early 2000s that has dedicated space in my iPod and on certain playlists.
The more modern country music is still not my jam unless it’s something far too catchy to ignore.
That being said, lately, I’ve come across video clips, research studies, and informational posts about how music helps children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focus well on tasks.
The most recent study was done in 2020 and focused on a small group of ADHD children who also experienced impaired executive function.
Executive function refers to a set of interrelated cognitive processes like working memory, attentional control, and response inhibition, which enable the control of specific, goal-oriented behaviors.
Executive function actually remains changeable over a person’s lifespan – which means that it isn’t a leap to say that ADHD adults still have it, too!
However, I’m just going to ignore the part where they only gave the children low, instrumental musical tracks to listen to instead of anything really fun because it was a research study and you have to have the same test controls for every subject.
Plus, my idea of fun music is probably not everyone’s cup of tea and instrumental tracks vary across my music catalog, too.
So, perhaps this is a roundabout way of saying that my obsession with finding music, curating it, and dividing certain songs into playlists based on moods or situations is in fact helping me concentrate when I use said music in the right setting.
I mean, I’ve got playlists labeled by mood, season, overall genre, assorted favorites, things I can dance to, and songs I’d use to pick for karaoke games – just to name a few.
Overall my takeaway is that music marries structure, rhythm, and timing - and since ADHD often involves challenges with time management and other executive functions - listening to music can sometimes help.
