Why listening to “immersive sounds” can make you more productive, more empathetic and a stronger leader
Let’s try a little experiment. Set a timer on your phone for 30 seconds and sit there for the duration with a clear mind, not thinking of anything.
Chances are you can’t do it. Likely you were thinking about that email you need to send, the thing you forgot to do earlier, or that barbed comment a co-worker made that’s stuck on loop in your head.
According to recent studies, the average human brain has more than 6,000 thoughts in a single day. Rather than helping us to think and act fast at work, this constant treadmill can exhaust us, and makes it difficult to give your full attention to any one task, damaging our productivity.
Helping people to quieten their own minds has become a billion-dollar industry in the last few years, with countless apps and services entering the market to help people train to become more “mindful”, a therapeutic technique that helps you focus on the present moment while calmly acknowledging—but not getting caught up in—your thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness app Calm, a market leader, is valued at over US$2 billion.
Hong Kong entrepreneur, musician and mindfulness practitioner Aymeric Vollant was always interested in how sounds affect the body and mind, and can help people become more mindful. His curiosity piqued by a growing body of research on the impact of sound on our wellbeing, he started to experiment with what he calls “immersive sounds”, taking participants on “sound journeys” that can help alter mood and state of consciousness.
See also: 5 Reasons You Should Be A Mindful Leader