Whistle while you work...

The Dwarfs were right! Whistling while you work makes you do your job better

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 22nd September 2010

Whistling while you work may not win you many friends - but it could help you do your job better.

A leading psychologist claims whistling or singing helps distract the mind from trying too hard and prevents mental overload.

The controversial suggestion comes from a study into the phenomenon of 'choking' - the moment when a footballer misses a critical penalty or a top student flunks a vital exam.

The seven dwarfs famously sang the song 'Whistle While You Work' and scientist say that they may have been right all along

Far from being down to 'just nerves', choking occurs when the brain finds itself with too many pieces of information to process, resulting in 'paralysis by analysis', argues Dr Sian Beilock of the University of Chicago.

The same holds true when presenting a vital sales pitch, making an important putt or doing an audition.

Dr Beilock, who used brain scans to study what is going on the mind during high pressure situations in the lab, said: 'Choking is sub-optimal performance, not just poor performance.

'It's a performance that is inferior to what you can do and have done in the past and occurs when you feel pressure to get everything right.'

Some of the most memorable moments of choking occur in sports when the whole world is watching, she said.

In 1996, golfer Greg Norman blew it on the final day of the US Masters, despite having a huge lead. Dr Beilock says he failed because he was thinking too hard about what he was doing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1313993/The-Dwarfs-right-Whistling-work-makes-job-better.html#ixzz10G3oyhTK