Summary: A new study explored whether young adults with ADHD are more likely to listen to background music during daily tasks. The survey, involving over 400 participants, found that individuals with ADHD prefer listening to music—especially stimulating music—while studying or playing sports.
This contrasts with neurotypical individuals, who tend to listen to music more passively, such as when relaxing. The findings suggest that music may help people with ADHD achieve optimal arousal levels for focus, opening new avenues for non-pharmacological support.
Key Facts:
- Study Behavior: Young adults with ADHD are more likely to listen to background music while studying and playing sports.
- Stimulating Sounds: Individuals with ADHD prefer energizing music over relaxing tunes, possibly to boost cognitive performance.
- Potential Support Tool: Musi
Source: University of Montreal
Are people with attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) more likely to listen to background music while performing daily tasks?
Kelly-Ann Lachance, a doctoral student in clinical neuropsychology at Université de Montréal, decided to find out.
She and her supervisor, neuropsychologist and psychology professor Nathalie Gosselin, analyzed the responses of 434 young adults between the ages of 17 and 30 to an online survey about music listening habits.
“In lab studies, we rarely ask about listening habits, and yet it’s important because people differ in the amount of stimulation they need to perform a task optimally,” said Lachance.
The results were published in Frontiers in Psychology in January 2025. Lachance said she chose to publish in an open-access journal because she wanted to share her findings with a broader audience.
“As a future clinician, I want to use research to help the individuals I follow,” she said.
Detailed online questionnaire
Launched at the end of the pandemic, the study relied entirely on data collected through the survey.
“Some parts of it already existed, so we took the questions on music-listening habits and the subjective effects of background music and put them in an online questionnaire that could be completed in under 15 minutes,” explained Lachance.
To determine whether respondents were ADHD or neurotypical, the survey included questions from the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale for DSM-5 (ASRS-5); 118 of the respondents screened as ADHD and 316 as neurotypical.
“The ASRS-5 is a quick way to assess ADHD symptoms,” Lachance noted.
Other questions in the survey assessed each respondent’s recent emotional state, level of anxiety and depressive symptoms.
“Music is used to modulate emotions, so we wanted to include emotional functioning in the study,” explained Gosselin, who is also director of UdeM’s Music, Emotions and Cognition Research Laboratory (MUSEC Laboratory) and a researcher at its parent organization, BRAMS (International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research).
Playing sports or studying
The study examined differences in background music listening during a host of daily tasks, including cognitive activities such as reading, writing and studying, and less cognitive activities such as cooking, taking public transport and playing sports.
It found that people with ADHD reported listening to background music while playing sports and while studying significantly more than did neurotypicals.
However, neurotypicals spent more hours per week listening to music while not doing anything else.
While the researchers weren’t completely surprised by the results, they didn’t see them as a foregone conclusion.
“You could also imagine that music might interfere with performing a cognitively demanding task,” which could have made individuals with ADHD less inclined to listen to music at the same time, said Gosselin.
In fact, not only do young adults with ADHD like to have music in the background while studying, they prefer music that is stimulating rather than relaxing.
“Why stimulating music? The literature shows that people with ADHD need more activation to perform at the same optimal level as neurotypicals. Music could help with this, regardless of the type of activity,” explained Lachance.
“However, this is a hypothesis that requires future testing,” Gosselin pointed out.
A beneficial habit?
Is music in fact beneficial for young adults with ADHD? How does it affect their concentration and motivation? Gosselin has been wondering about this for a long time.
“My first neuropsychology internship was in child psychiatry,” she recalled.
“In one of my first cases, a father asked me if it was a good idea for his teen with attention difficulties to listen to music while studying. I didn’t know what to say because there were no conclusive data in the literature. But the question stayed with me.”
Since music is ubiquitous and readily available, it could be valuable in helping people manage ADHD symptoms.
“I’m not suggesting it could replace medication, but it could complement it,” said Lachance. “The question is how we can use the full potential of music to promote optimal performance.”
About this music and ADHD research news
Author: Catherine Couturier
Source: University of Montreal
Contact: Catherine Couturier – University of Montreal
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Listening habits and subjective effects of background music in young adults with and without ADHD” by Nathalie Gosselin et al. Frontiers in Psychology
Abstract
Listening habits and subjective effects of background music in young adults with and without ADHD
Adults listen to an average of 20.7 hours of music per week, according to a study conducted across 26 countries. Numerous studies indicate that listening to music can have beneficial effects on cognitive performance and emotional well-being.
Music listening habits may vary depending on individual needs and listening contexts. However, a limited number of studies have specifically examined the patterns of background music usage during various more or less cognitive activities, especially among individuals with attentional difficulties related to ADHD.
This study primarily aimed to compare music listening habits during daily activities that are more and less cognitive (e.g., studying, problem-solving versus cleaning, engaging in sports) between neurotypical young adults and those screened for ADHD (respondents who were identified as likely having ADHD based on the number of self-reported symptoms). To achieve this, 434 young adults aged 17 to 30 responded to an online survey.
The results indicate that certain listening habits differ significantly between the neurotypical and ADHD-screened groups. The ADHD-screened group reports significantly more background music listening during less cognitive activities and while studying, compared to the neurotypical group.
The results also reveal a difference in the proportion of individuals preferring stimulating music between the groups: ADHD-screened individuals report significantly more frequent listening to stimulating music, regardless of the activity type (more or less cognitive). Other aspects of music listening are common to both groups.
Regardless of the group, more respondents reported preferring to listen to relaxing, instrumental, familiar and self-chosen music during more cognitive activities, whereas for less cognitive activities, more individuals mentioned preferring to listen to music that is stimulating, with lyrics, familiar and self-chosen.
Overall, the results confirm that most young adults listen to music during their daily activities and perceive positive effects from this listening.
