The problem with this paper is that it ignores ADHD. It can be very difficult or impossible to maintain concentration for periods of time longer than some minutes (or even seconds) for an ADHD person and certain kinds of music can help mitigate this problem in some cases.
BTW amphetamine works alike AFAIK: it induces hyperactivity and harms concentration in healthy people but calms ADHD people down and induces concentration and clarity on them.
I've heard that claim about amphetamines before, and I've always doubted it. I know many people who do not seem to have ADHD and who have never been diagnosed who have taken adderall before. They all claim to have used it to study for tests, work on huge projects, etc. with great success.
Besides, if amphetamines worked differently on the healthy/ADHD people, wouldn't you just give someone a small dose of amphetamine if you wanted to "test" them for ADHD? If they act calmer, they must have ADHD, if they get hyperactive, they don't. Right?
Apologies if I"m misunderstanding; I'm just hoping to get to the bottom of a claim that's always bothered me.
If you want a brilliant and lovely person to listen to about the facts of ADHD, look up Dr Russell Barkley.
That factoid is a myth: the difference is that ADHD meds provide those with ADHD the focus needed to function in modern society, and without it they do not function. There's a theory to do with dopamine regulation and the COMT gene which I don't claim to understand. A generalisation might be 'this gives me dopamine in a pill, so I don't disrupt my environment/chase random thoughts for my dopamine'.
That's exactly what I mean. It (I mean racemic street amphetamine, you can't get medical adderall in Europe) makes the majority of those who try it very agitated but makes some of those with ADHD serene and tranquil as a pure water lake surface on a windless day. I doubt it works on everybody this simple though and there hardly is any scientific research on this subject.
> it induces hyperactivity and harms concentration in healthy people
This is wrong. They don't like to talk about it, but air forces around the world have been giving amphetamines to pilots since WWII. They're used to enable pilots to maintain focus for long missions. The US Air Force conducted studies on amphetamines in the 50s and concluded that they do indeed improve pilots' performance.
> The problem with this paper is that it ignores ADHD.
This isn't really a problem with the paper itself, per se. But probably a subset of the population which should be tested.
> certain kinds of music can help mitigate this problem in some cases.
Is this inferred/anecdotal evidence or rigorously tested? Many of my friends claim that music helps them concentrate, but (as this paper shows) it probably doesn't.
I just tend to loose conscious awareness and feel extreme urge (like the urge to breeze you feel if you stop breezing and wait a minute) to switch to a different task (procrastination usually, that's exactly why I am writing this now :-)) every couple of minutes and focusatwill.com helps a huge lot by putting me in the state of flow. Same story with my GF, she has introduced this app to me in fact.
BTW amphetamine works alike AFAIK: it induces hyperactivity and harms concentration in healthy people but calms ADHD people down and induces concentration and clarity on them.