A new international survey-based study finds that young adults who screen positive for attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use background music more often — and prefer more stimulating tracks — than their neurotypical peers, yet both groups report similar subjective boosts to concentration and mood. The research, published in Frontiers in Psychology and summarized in Neuroscience News, maps real‑world listening habits across everyday tasks and points to music as a low‑cost, customizable tool that could help people in Thailand and elsewhere manage attention and emotion during study, work and exercise (Frontiers article; Neuroscience News summary).
The study matters to Thai readers because music is woven into daily life across Thailand — from lively markets and tuk‑tuk radios to students studying in cafés and commuters on the BTS — and because attention problems affect a sizeable share of children and adults here. A national survey has previously estimated childhood ADHD prevalence in Thailand at about 8.1% (primary school sample), underlining why low‑cost, culturally adaptable strategies that support focus and mood deserve attention in Thai education and mental‑health planning (Thai survey summary).
Researchers used an online questionnaire completed by 434 young adults (17–30 years) to compare those who screened above threshold on a standard adult ADHD screener (ASRS‑5) with those who did not. The survey captured hours of music listening, whether music was primary or background, the kinds of tasks paired with background music (classified as “more cognitive,” e.g., studying or problem solving, versus “less cognitive,” e.g., cleaning, cooking, exercising), preferred musical characteristics (relaxing vs stimulating; familiar vs unfamiliar; with or without lyrics), and perceived effects of background music on cognitive and emotional functioning. The paper situates findings within established psychology frameworks such as the Cognitive Capacity Hypothesis, the Moderate Brain Arousal model, and Mood‑Arousal theory to explain why people pick different musical strategies for different tasks (full study).
Key findings and developments: ADHD‑screened participants reported significantly more background music while studying and during sport, and a higher preference for stimulating (upbeat, activating) tracks across activities. Neurotypical participants more often preferred relaxing, familiar music during demanding cognitive tasks. Despite these usage and preference differences, both groups rated background music’s benefits for concentration and mood at similar levels; the study’s factor analysis extracted two reliable subjective‑effect factors — perceived gains in cognitive functioning and in emotional functioning — with high internal consistency (results and factor analyses). Importantly, the findings were drawn from real‑world self‑reports rather than lab tasks, offering an ecological view of how young adults actually use music in daily life.
How experts interpret these patterns: The authors interpret the results through two complementary lenses. The Cognitive Capacity Hypothesis suggests that tasks requiring more cognitive resources leave fewer attentional resources for processing background music; thus, neurotypical listeners may favor calming, familiar tracks that do not compete for attention during intense study. The Moderate Brain Arousal model proposes that people with ADHD often operate at lower baseline arousal and therefore seek stronger stimulation to reach optimal alertness — stimulating music may deliberately raise arousal to sustain engagement, especially for monotonous tasks like revising notes or exercising. Mood‑Arousal theory adds that music’s emotional valence (pleasantness) and activation (calming vs stimulating) modulate performance in task‑dependent ways, which helps explain why listeners choose different characteristics for different activities (theoretical framing in the study).
Thailand‑specific implications and applications: For Thai students, office workers and coaches, the study suggests practical, culturally adaptable steps:
- Personalize: There is no universal “focus playlist.” Thai learners should experiment with playlists that match the task: calming instrumental or familiar luk‑thung background for intensive reading, and more rhythmic, upbeat pop, dance or hip‑hop for repetitive or low‑demand tasks. The researchers found neurotypicals tended toward relaxing familiar music during demanding tasks, while ADHD‑screened participants more often chose stimulating music even during study (study results).
- Make choice available: Being able to self‑select music matters. The study reinforces prior work showing self‑chosen music better meets individual activation needs than researcher‑selected tracks; Thai universities and tutoring centers could consider allowing students to use headphones and self‑selected playlists during study hours.
- Use music strategically in classrooms and study policy: For group instruction or exam environments, the potential distractibility of background music means it should be used with caution. But during study‑hall time or fitness classes, curated “cognitive playlists” might aid engagement, especially for students who struggle with sustained attention.
- Pilot “cognitive playlist” tools locally: The paper suggests future work to build and test tailored playlists (e.g., “relaxation,” “sustained attention,” “exercise”) and evaluate them in classroom and workplace settings. Thai educational institutions might partner with psychology or musicology departments to trial locally relevant playlists (including Thai‑language and regional genres) and measure effects on attention and mood.
Historical and cultural context for Thailand: Music carries strong cultural identity across Thailand’s regions — from Isan mor lam and luk‑thung to Bangkok pop and international K‑pop influences. That cultural variety matters because familiarity with a tune changes the emotional and reward response to music: familiar music often activates reward circuits and can be soothing, but for some listeners (including many with ADHD symptoms) highly familiar or emotionally engaging tracks may be too distracting. Translating the study’s findings for Thailand means acknowledging that “familiar” and “stimulating” are culturally shaped; a song that calms one student may energize another. This makes local testing of playlist types important before recommending wide adoption (Frontiers discussion on familiarity and reward).
Balanced perspectives and caveats: The authors are careful to note key limitations. The study used a screening questionnaire (ASRS‑5) rather than clinical diagnoses, relied on self‑report rather than objective measures of attention performance, and sampled predominantly North American and European participants who responded to an online French/English survey — so findings may not generalize perfectly to Thai populations or to people of other ages. The research does not establish that a given playlist will objectively improve exam scores or workplace productivity; it documents perceived effects and real‑world habits. The authors call for controlled laboratory experiments and neuroimaging studies to test how different musical parameters (tempo, amplitude modulation, familiarity, presence of lyrics) affect neural markers of attention, especially in diagnosed ADHD populations (limitations and future directions). Complementary work published elsewhere has already started to probe rapid music modulation and attention in listeners with attentional difficulties, pointing to possible neural mechanisms worth exploring in clinical trials (example study referenced by the authors).
Potential future developments: The study paves the way for several research and practical pathways relevant to Thailand. Researchers could adapt the survey and run large‑scale local studies across Thai universities and high schools to map genre preferences, time‑of‑day effects, and cultural differences in familiarity and valence. Clinical trials could test whether curated playlists (including instrumental Thai genres or regionally familiar renditions) change objective attention markers — reaction times, sustained‑attention tasks, or even classroom grades. Technology firms and EdTech platforms could partner with psychologists to build “adaptive cognitive playlists” that alter tempo or spectral features to match user‑reported arousal and task complexity. Finally, public‑health and education policymakers might consider low‑cost pilot programs enabling headphone use in study spaces, paired with guidance about when music helps and when silence is better.
Actionable recommendations for Thai readers
- If you struggle to focus while studying, try a short A/B experiment: spend one study session in silence or ambient noise and a comparable session with a chosen playlist. Note subjective focus and objective productivity (pages read, problems solved, time on task).
- For difficult reading or concentration tasks, start with relaxing, instrumental, and familiar tracks; switch to more stimulating, rhythmic music for boring or repetitive chores and exercise. The study suggests neurotypical listeners often choose calming familiar music for high‑demand tasks, while people with attentional difficulties may benefit from stimulating tracks for certain tasks (study results).
- Avoid highly lyrical or emotionally charged songs during tasks that require language processing (writing, reading, memorizing) — lyrics can compete for verbal working memory.
- Use volume and headphones mindfully: loud music that masks important auditory cues or class discussion can be counterproductive.
- Consider regular “meta‑review” of your playlist strategy: mood, sleep and stress change your arousal needs. A playlist that worked during exam week may be less helpful when you are tired.
- For parents and teachers in Thailand: encourage adolescents to experiment with music strategies at home and report what helps. Avoid blanket bans; instead teach students how to self‑monitor and choose music to support their study habits.
Sources and further reading: The core study is available in full at Frontiers in Psychology, “Listening habits and subjective effects of background music in young adults with and without ADHD” (Frontiers full article). A readable summary is published by Neuroscience News (Neuroscience News summary). Broader data on global music engagement (which documents average hours of listening) appears in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry report “Engaging With Music 2023” (IFPI report PDF). For Thailand‑specific ADHD prevalence and pediatric context, see a 2024 open‑access study profiling gut microbiota and ADHD in Thai children and a cited national survey estimating childhood prevalence at around 8.1% (Thai pediatric microbiome study and national survey summary).
Conclusion: This new research adds important ecological detail to a growing literature showing that music is more than decoration — for many people it is an active cognitive tool. The choice of background music is not random: it reflects task demands, individual arousal needs and cultural familiarity. For Thailand, the takeaway is pragmatic: encourage thoughtful, self‑directed use of background music as part of broader attention and well‑being strategies, and support local research to tailor playlists and interventions that respect Thai musical tastes and classroom realities. As the authors note, there is no single “right” playlist — but with careful testing, students, workers and clinicians in Thailand can learn to tune music to better serve focus, mood and learning.