Lo-Fi music, scientifically speaking

 

credits to: u/freak-000 on Reddit

What is Lo-Fi music?       
Short for "Low Fidelity", lo-fi music is a very simple genre that involves three main elements: jazzy instrumentals, drum beat combo of bass and snares (boom bap) which is played intentionally off-kilter to emulate the style by the pioneer of this genre J Dilla, and, ambient noise.
Another big element of this genre is that the sound is voluntarily imperfect, especially because of the usage of ambient noise.
The most prominent form of distortion in lo-fi music is harmonic distortion, to explain what that is, it's the type of distortion that adds overtones (harmonic frequencies greater than the fundamental one) that are whole number multiples of a sound wave's frequencies. 

credits to: sciencelearn.org.nz

Lo-Fi music usually plays at 70 to 95 bpm and the frequencies usually range between 10KHz and 200Hz.

But why is Lo-Fi used so much to focus?
Just like mentioned above, this music is composed of just three elements, so it's extremely simple. In general, the ideal music to focus on is a sound that doesn't give us too many surprises to stay "in the zone", so there is no salience, there are no lyrics, it doesn't contain catchy melodies and the chill BPM are the perfect recipe.

But what else?
Well, slow and relaxing music increases serotonin and dopamine levels, this study from Montreal's McGill University shows that music can boost dopamine up to 9%, and, thanks to this, students tend to stay more focused and relaxed when listening to lo-fi music.
Then, lo-fi music drowns out distracting noises, but, the music itself isn't distracting enough to be listened to while focusing on a task.
And, as we already know, it has calming and restorative effects, it reduces stress and anxiety-producing cortisol levels, plus, we can benefit from musical effects even more since this dopamine boost can help combat stress, anxiety, and even depression.

Does Lo-Fi ACTUALLY make us study more/in a more effective way?
Well, yes, since lo-fi music triggers an enjoyable response, the human brain releases dopamine in pleasurable situations and, this substance enhances alertness, motivation, focus, and happiness.
So, technically lo-fi music does make us more productive. 

Something else to discuss lo-fi music is its aesthetic, or better, the aesthetic that this music genre acquired from the Net.
This aesthetic is mainly related to anime, and a vintage-ish visual with this hip-hop feel, and, its main mood is nostalgic. 

credits: Pinterest

But is there anything similar to lo-fi that might work better for me?

Yes! We have white noise, binaural beats, pink noise, and brown noise, here I'll give you some quick definitions.

White Noise
It's characterized by the absence of periodicity in time and a constant amplitude in the whole frequency spectrum. It's called white noise because a similar electromagnetic radiation with a similar spectrum would appear white to the human eye. 
White Noise is considered relaxing because since it contains all frequencies at an equal intensity, it can make loud sounds that stimulate your brain.

Pink Noise

A particular type of noise where the low frequency components are more powerful. This noise's added depth and lower waves filter out higher sounds, this is why this sound might be relaxing for you.

Brown Noise

It's the noise created by the Brownian motion. The brownian motion refers to the disordered motion of small enough particles that can be subjected to a negligible gravity force. Brown noise can be found relaxing because it has a low, natural sound, so many people find it easier to listen to than white noise. It can also help to mask the ringing in your ears, and promote relaxation and focus.

Binaural Beats
These beats are basically what our brain feels when two different sounds with frequencies inferior to 1500Hz and a difference inferior to 30Hz get listened to separately with earbuds. To be clear, they're NOT a consequence of a physical overlap of sound waves, but they're actually generated by our brains. Many people listen to them to fall asleep easily or to relax/concentrate. 

Which one do you prefer?