Noise-cancelling headphones have become a necessity in life for most people. Being able to block out the baby’s cry from three tables down or Bangkok traffic from the other side of the office window is an invincible feeling. But now that you’ve canceled out all the distractions, what should you be listening to, to help boost your productivity? It’s been proven that those who struggle to concentrate benefit from ambient noise or white noise. Some people are simply too restless for silence and need a moderate level of sound in order to work at their most optimal level. To get you started, we’ve listed out the top 3 we think is worth your precious phone storage.

 

Worth the money: Brain.fm

Created by a group of musicians, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs, Brain.fm  combines auditory neuroscience with music to help the brain enhance focus, relax, mediate or fall asleep, depending on what listeners are looking for. The music played is generated by an AI engine made specifically for the app, but perhaps the most magical part about all of this is that results can be felt within 15 minutes of use. Brain.fm has a subscription fee; however, the first five sessions are free.

 

Best App Store review: “I bought the lifetime subscription. It’s the most I’ve ever paid for a single app but it’s paid itself off in multiple different ways.”

 

Visually beautiful: Noisli

Noisli may be the best $1.99 you spend at the App Store. A clean and minimal app, Noisli mixes different sounds to create the perfect personalized environment that will help you concentrate. You can activate one or more sounds on the app – including water, rumbling train and fireplace – and adjust the volume slider to create an different sound environments. The high quality ambient noise and color generator make Noisli the most visually stunning app.

 

Best App Store review: “This is the most beautiful app, and had everything I need when I was looking for an app with natural sounds.”

 

Bring the Coffee Shop to your Home: Coffitivity

There’s a sizable group out there that depends on the gentle murmur of coffee shop conversation to get work done. Meet Coffitivity, an app that brings the coffee shop experience to your headphones. Available on your web browser and as an app, Coffitivity creates different café environments, including ‘morning mumur’ and ‘university undertones’ to help get your creative juice flowing for the times you can’t make it to your local Starbucks.

 

Best App Store review: “This app is perfect when you want that coffee house vibe for productivity purposes without actually going to the coffee house.”