[Improving work environment] I tried an experiment to see if productivity changes due to smells, food, and music.

Don't you want to increase your productivity? I apologize for the sudden entrance.

This is Koide from the Organizational Culture Committee.

Have you ever felt like you couldn't concentrate today after work?

I also always worry about my ability to concentrate during work.There are many days when I work while fighting the sleepiness that comes around noon.

In this article, the Organizational Culture Committee will share with you what we found out and our impressions after conducting a month-long experiment to determine how much concentration can be affected by smells, food, and music.

If you feel sleepy during the day or want to increase your concentration time during the day, please continue watching.

Click here if you just want to know the results )

Can smells, music, and food really improve your concentration?

Why did we decide to conduct an experiment to see if smells, music, and food can improve concentration in the first place? Our representative, Haraoka, met a curry shop owner on a business trip to Yokohama.

The owner of a curry shop told me, ``The way people work changes depending on the smell, food, and music.''

After that, the Organizational Culture Committee was approached to request an experiment.

I was like, ``I see, it looks interesting, so I'm going to experiment with it at the Organizational Culture Committee!'' and I accepted the offer.

However, I wondered, ``Do smells, music, and food have anything to do with concentration?'' So I did some research and found the following papers and articles.

How to improve your concentration - The connection between the sense of smell and concentration

Food is the key to productivity: How to eat to get the most out of your day

music and concentration

All three seem to have something to do with concentration...so we actually conducted an experiment in-house!

Flow of the experiment

First, I will explain the flow of the experiment.

1: Interview employees via questionnaire regarding smells, music, and food

Why not try experimenting to determine the best music, scent, and food for your work day? Based on this idea, we first conducted a survey among our members.

The result was as follows (partial excerpt).

 

2: Based on the questionnaire, set up aromas and play background music on a weekly basis

Based on the above questionnaire, we verified the following combinations.

First week: Aroma : Lavender Music: Cafe style

Second week: Aroma : Woody Music: Environmental sounds

Third week: Aroma : Mint Music: Silence

Fourth week: Aroma : Citrus Music: Jazz/Relaxation

After considering the questionnaire and examining it with the chairman of the organizational culture committee, we procured aroma oils that we thought had a good smell.

3: Conducted a survey to find out whether there was an improvement in productivity

Week 1: Aroma : Lavender Music: Cafe style Results

What did you eat for lunch: Onigiri, ramen, salad chicken, meat and salt knots, days when you don't eat, etc.

Second week: Aroma : Woody Music: Ambient sound Results

What did you have for lunch: Onigiri, curry, Indian curry, Nomshin Shoten , salad chicken, cabbage, etc.

Third week: Aroma : Mint Music: Silence Results

What did you eat for lunch: Onigiri, salad, gizzard, eating out normally, fruit, Chinese food, pasta, onigiri, didn't have time to eat, sandwich, salt bread, beef bowl, etc.

Fourth week: Aroma : Citrus Music: Jazz/Relaxation Result

What did you have for lunch: Onigiri, snack bread, hot vegetable salad (KOHYO system), rye bread with peanut jam, onigiri and bento, etc.

summary

Many people said that the silent background music helped them concentrate the most, and the mint scent helped them concentrate the most.

but

``Although the scent of lavender was very soothing, I felt like I felt more sleepy than usual.''

"I liked that the mint made my head feel clearer. I thought it made me feel more nervous than other scents. I feel like if I use it for a long time, I might get a little tired."

I heard some people say that, so I thought it would be a good idea to change it every day.

As for my diet, I found that by eating a low-carbohydrate diet, I didn't feel sleepy in the afternoon.

I think smells and background music mostly depend on personal preference, but in this result,

Mint × Silence × Low sugar 

The combination of these resulted in the best concentration.

These are the results within Beyond, so even if you conduct the same experiment, you may get different experimental results.

If you are interested, why not try it at home?

See you then.