Find out how to change the sound in your home office space for a more relaxing and productive working environment.
Are you working from a home office in 2022? Noise pollution is known to cause us to feel more stress, struggle with sleep and we may even have issues with our hearing with prolonged exposure to it. Whilst this is a great reason to boost the soundproofing in your home office, it doesn’t mean that complete silence is what is best for you. In fact, in addition to decluttering into affordable self storage, and using calm and neutral colours, many people can feel more relaxed and focused with an office soundscape.
To help you decide which office soundscape is the best option for you, here are some popular noise types to consider:
White Noise
White noise is something we connect with as it replicates the sounds that we would hear in the womb. It is also useful because it fills the silence, but it has no particular rhyme, rhythm or pattern that you might pick out. To get it, you can use a white noise app, or there are white noise videos on Youtube.
Live Streams
There are some incredible live streams you can put on that give you a relaxing visual and some background noise too. Aquariums, sea scapes, African plains, nests – there is something for everyone on this site and it’s all free too.
It’s also a great way to get a bit of daily nature without even having to step a foot outside (although it is a great idea to get some outdoor time of your own at some point!).
The Radio
Loneliness when working from home is rife, with over 3 million home-working people in the UK struggling with these kinds of feelings day to day. It’s no surprise that this is happening, as the country still continues to adjust to a post-pandemic world, with many people still working from home at least some of the time.
To alleviate feelings of loneliness, some people take real comfort in hearing the daily radio programmes on their favourite channel, particularly if the hosts have chit-chat you enjoy as a type of background noise. It can help you feel like you have company, even if it’s just people elsewhere chatting and going through the motions. It can also help you feel a sense of routine because there are different hosts on at different times, including driving home songs, which you could enjoy as you clean the office to ‘leave work’ giving you a great sense of leaving your job behind for the day.
Home Office Background
Do you miss the sound of the office? The gentle chatter, the clinking of coffee cups, the rustling of paper? If you do, then an office background noise could well be the soundscape for you. It might also help you to feel less isolated too, which a lot of home workers can feel after working in an office with other people for so long. Interestingly you can also get construction site backgrounds, restaurant backgrounds, salon noises and more. So if a different working environment suits you better, give it a go. It’s all personalised to your taste and needs.
Water
The sound of running water is a known soother and it is scientifically proven to bring us a feeling of relaxation, as well as decreasing feelings of stress. You can create this with a running water soundscape, or even the sounds of the sea. However, according to Feng Shui and similar philosophies, actual running water is a really great thing to have in your home. This would be a small water feature that is easily setup and placed in your office. It could be a great visual feature and way to add a relaxing and serene background noise in your working space day to day.
TV Programmes
TV programmes can be distracting, but sometimes there are types that you can have on in the background without being drawn to watch them. As with our suggestions above with having the radio playing, programmes like morning tv shows and daily scheduled live shows can help you feel like the world is still going on, and like you have some company.
Coffee Shop
Coffee shop background noise is similar to an office background, only it is more chatter, more cup clinking and it can often be a little louder than an office soundscape. It is perfect if you have worked in coffee shops before and enjoyed the sounds and ambience of the gentle comings and goings of others.
Rainforest
Rainforest sounds often include the noises of animals like monkeys and birds, as well as waterfall or rainfall sounds as well. These provide a relaxing element of nature, as well as the gentle rhythm of the natural environment they represent. They are perfect if you are the kind of person who loves to just sit in nature. Beach sounds and thunderstorms might also be worth trying too.
Podcasts
For some people, non-specific chat can be a great way to boost the sounds of a home office. Is there a podcast you love to have on that doesn’t grab your interest, but you like to dip in and out of listening to it? If so, that is the ideal choice for your office background noise. Alternatively, an audiobook read by a voice you enjoy could be a good choice. Perhaps something you have already listened to so there’s no attention grabbing storylines occurring. Harry Potter, read by Stephen Fry, is a great choice, especially on a cold winter day with a great view and some laborious tasks to complete.
Lo-fi
Lo-fi is a popular choice for working or studying music because it tends to be very relaxed, very repetitive and generally easy to listen to whilst focusing on something else. This channel has a live lofi stream on it all the time so that you can enjoy a constant supply of lofi without interruption.
What Will Your Home Office Soundscape Be?
The ideas above have hopefully inspired you to create the perfect background noise for your office. With the right sounds you can enjoy a more relaxed and productive working space tailored to your needs, for a better home working environment that supports your career aspirations.
