Mario Kart Music For Studying

Are Nostalgic Video Game Soundtracks the Secret to Insane Productivity?

A hit of adrenaline and dopamine might exist what's driving people to play 'Mario Kart' music while on the clock

Desperate to wring some serotonin out of a hitting of nostalgia, I recently looked up YouTube videos of hands-downwardly the best racing game on Nintendo 64 — Diddy Kong Racing . I was immediately transported back to my babyhood, completely entrenched in striking every unmarried plow and boost perfectly in gild to vanquish Wizpig and free the animals on Timber'due south Island .

The videos obviously made for a great distraction, just as I dragged myself from my cornball haze to render to the existent earth and my daily toiling, a funny affair happened: The intense, upbeat songs from the game continued to repeat throughout my brain as I worked. Meliorate yet, I felt the aforementioned focus and drive that I felt flight through Snowflake Mountain back when I was ix. Since I'thou e'er looking for annihilation that volition boost my productivity, I searched to find the game'south playlist and discovered an entire earth of people using it for the exact same purpose. On YouTube, at that place's " 1 Hour of Iconic Mario Kart Music for Studying " and " Zelda Music to Relax/Study/Work/Game "; and over on Spotify, the idea is perfectly encapsulated by " Mario Kart Automobile Go Fast Encephalon Go Fast ."

The teens, information technology seems, have been on to this productivity hack for a while now . In fact, final calendar month a TikTok user blasting Mario Kart music to stop an essay eventually landed a track from Mario Kart Wii at #15 on the U.S. Spotify Viral l nautical chart .

@daniellev98
my stress levels went 📈 but so did my word count #fyp #schoolhouse #foryoupage #viral #foryou #mariokart

♬ original sound – Danielle

I felt like an idiot. Could I have been leveraging video-game nostalgia to juice my focus this whole fourth dimension?

"Before nosotros get to, 'Boss music makes me want to slay my own dragons,'" forensic musicologist Brian McBrearty tells me, "the event of listening to music depends a ton on the listener'south broader relationship with music." That is, how you mind to music , what that music is and the environment you're consuming that music in tin can all play a part in whether or not a sure type will pb to greater concentration.

And with the caveat that the video-game soundtracks of our youth have plenty of potential to exist more than distracting than annihilation else, at that place's some logic behind why they might boost productivity. For starters, per McBrearty, when people want a piece of music for motivation — non to just cover upwards background noise or provide white noise for a walk — the idea is to "overwhelm the cerebral cost [of lark] with another benefit related to mood."

As such, he says, "we need to analyze our relationship to different types of music and map to the positive feelings that enable productivity ." On one end of the scale is how much the Diddy Kong Racing soundtrack and all the memories and emotions therein might distract me, just on the other end, "in this case at to the lowest degree, is a dopamine hit, a potential adrenaline hit for our brains," McBrearty explains.

In the same style my piddling Diet Coke care for in the afternoon puts me in a good mood and helps my productivity, McBrearty says nosotros can think of music "in terms of dosing ourselves with a sure amount of enjoyment." If the soundtrack to an onetime video game is enough to burnish your mood and "remind y'all about the rewards of accomplishment," he continues, "that's motivation, and motivation spurs productivity." Plus, the music injects some adrenaline into the mix too, which, "in the right corporeality, tin heighten our senses and attention, and keeps u.s.a. alert."

The music from Diddy Kong Racing does exactly that for me. While there are a few distracting tracks I have to weed out, the overall experience simultaneously puts me in a proficient mood and gives me a rush of adrenaline. "So bringing a bit of that back consciously, or manipulatively, makes perfect sense," McBreary explains, comparing information technology to curating a workout playlist full of music that's outside your preferred genre. "I create my workout playlists for all kinds of personally manipulative reasons. If you can regain the adrenaline and dopamine in the correct amounts, especially with the subconscious kickers of the health and contentment of your youth, how can that not be a productivity boost?"

That said, he knows there could exist some non-so-slap-up memories tied to the music, besides. "For example, that time you rocked back in your gamer chair so hard, you split your head on the java table? Y'all might not want to bring that back," he laughs. "True story — Mario Kart Wii. "

Quinn Myers

Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within.