Listen To Music With Speakers (‘Out Loud’)
Listening to music through speakers is profoundly healthier and better for dopamine receptors I have found. You notice a big difference between the two, where you ‘tap in’ in a hyper-focused state with headphones, but flow in a more gentle way with speakers. I have actually found myself to be much more productive listening to music through speakers as its more gentle, fluid, and balanced or grounded – I don’t feel consumed by my task (or more appropriately, I don’t feel myself consuming myself for my task) – and can work for longer (10-12 hours) whilst staying more relaxed. Literally, I don’t feel any negative difference with it no matter what I do or change. To explain this last part, consider how you feel when you take your headphones off after a few hour grind sessions or deep flow state – you likely feel tired, or feel a lot less motivated when that music stops. Without headphones and that ‘dialed in’ state, its one seamless and fluid flow between waking and working and napping and resting and sleeping.
‘Ride the wave’ so too speak, than ‘crashing and burning’.
That intense, consuming hyper-focus rapidly utilizes dopamine and burns out dopamine receptors, hence reducing this effect would increase or preserve dopamine receptor levels. Its closer to a ‘hypervigilant’ state for most, as the body tenses to support the complete focus of the mind on tasks that often don’t require such. Mind and body becoming focused on a task that is purely mental, essentially like burning the candle at both ends.
If you listen to music whilst working at a computer, whilst gaming, or when working out, consider playing it ‘out loud’ instead, that it blends into your environment and background, than becoming your reality.
Apex of Men 