'Feel It Still' to 'Levitating': The Most Distracting Songs to Work To

Different styles of music can help us work, but listening to certain songs can interfere with work. A recent study has discovered the most distracting songs to listen to while at work.

Conducted by Business Name Generator, the company looked for the most popular songs on work-related playlists on Spotify and put them to the test. Participants of the study were asked to complete a written task along with scoring them based on words-per-minute, accuracy and completion time.

Here were the results:

10. "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man

The 2017 hit had 79 beats per minute with an overall distraction score of 5.8. The song also has over 1 billion streams on Spotify.

9. "As It Was" by Harry Styles

"As It Was" was the lead single off Styles' 2022 album, Harry's House. The pop song had 174 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 5.3.

8. "I Like Me Better" by Lauv

The 2019 hit had 92 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 5.2.

7. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals

"Heat Waves" was Glass Animals' first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, keeping the spot for five weeks. The song has 81 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 4.9.

6. "Take You Dancing" by Jason Derulo

Jason Derulo's "Take You Dancing" has 113 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 4.9.

5. "Levitating" by Dua Lipa

The single from Dua Lipa's sophomore album titled Future Nostalgia has 103 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 4.1.

4. "The Business" by Tiësto

The 2020 hit has 120 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 4.0.

3. "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi

The hit song from 2019 has 110 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 3.9.

2. "Riptide" by Vance Joy

The 2014 hit has 102 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 3.7.

1. "Let Me Go" by Hailee Steinfeld (with Alesso, Florida Georgia Line and watt)

"Let Me Go" is considered the most distracting song for working and studying. It has 103 beats per minute and an overall distraction score of 1.6.

The song proved to be the most difficult to complete the work-related task, with the accuracy being the lowest in the ranking at 84 percent.

Observed in the study, participants listening to no music took 20 seconds longer to complete the written task. Their average pace was 53 words per minute.

However, "Memories" by Maroon 5 improved productivity the most with the participants finishing a work-related task in under three minutes and 50 seconds with a high accuracy score of 96 percent.

"When we listen to music it creates an intentional representation in our mind which then gives us a feeling. Depending on the kind of music you are listening to will determine how you feel and whether or not it is distracting," Rebecca Lockwood, Specialist in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Founder of The Yes I Can Method Academy, told Newsweek.

When someone listens to music that makes them feel good, it will have a good impact on their mental health because it creates an internal perception that leaves them feeling good. Listening to music that someone enjoys can help if they are feeling anxious or depressed, Lockwood added.

"The reason for this is because it can change the way you are feeling based on the perceptions you create in your mind from the sounds. Therefore if the music we listen to is upbeat and happy then that can inspire you to be more productive in both work and study."