DOES A WHITE NOISE HELP CONCENTRATION ?

Extract "Science et Vie" n° 1206 March 2018 - Reader's letter

No study has ever proven the benefits of adding noise offered by some CDs: "In an open office, emitting masking noise is not relevant," says Etienne Parizet, director of the Laboratory of Vibration and Acoustics (LVA) at INSA Lyon. Indeed, such a noise can mask speech from the other people of the office, thus increasing performances. But this also increases overall noise level, which is clearly detrimental to occupants well-being.
Such a solution cannot be as effective as an active headset, which can reduce part of ambient noise. "But we fear that the latter will cause cognitive fatigue in the long term", points out Patrick Chevret from INRS (prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases).