Studying can be a rather arduous task. I mean, who wants to sit down and read through a block of text when they can go do something they enjoy instead? But that’s not going to solve any problems. However, there are methods that supposedly improve the studying experience, specifically ambience in this case. Ambience can be a rather versatile category, but it can be described as the character and atmosphere of a place. 

Atmospheres can include city noises, rain,  cafes, and even libraries during blizzards. If sleeping while a fan is on or perhaps listening to youtube is your thing, ambience is a similar concept. The mimicking of an atmosphere is supposedly able to improve your focus. There will be four ambient noises covered as well as a judged review on their effectiveness: city noises, rain, cafes, and libraries in a blizzard. 

For one, city noises appear to be quite annoying. There is the chatter of people down below which tends to be muffled into indiscernible sounds in order to generate the city atmosphere without overloading the senses. That isn’t the worst part though. Cities come with numerous vehicles and with such vehicles their loud noises. Filled with the revving of engines and beeping of horns, it’s almost impossible to concentrate, unless you find the engine of a honda civic at 3AM barreling down your street soothing of course. 

Rain tends to be the general stereotype poster boy of ambient noise, with “soothing noises” and “concentration enhancing” effects. The effectiveness of rain however depends on the quality of sounds provided as well as personal preference. There was a particular recording with rain which was okay by itself, but it was stuck on a loop so the sound would drop out periodically and resume which became more bothersome than helpful. In addition, ambient rain is more like white noise instead of real rain. There is a stark contrast between the two when it comes to their hits on the windows and frequency. However, if you are a fan of white noise rain ambience might be for you.

Cafe ambience. Cafe ambience by itself set the mood but it was still a bit difficult to concentrate on studying. There were noises like coffee machine whirring and the bustling of customers. However, cafe noises with music such as studio ghibli or bossa nova were incredibly effective in improving concentration. The music set a very peaceful atmosphere and allowed for more concentration than if silent. 

Finally, libraries in a blizzard. Frankly, this was more creepy than anything. The howling wind made it ironically sound as if it was the moment of calm before the storm. 

Overall, cafes with soothing music were the most effective in helping with studying while city noises and rain might be more suitable for those who like white noise.