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Listening to music while battling through a work assignment or doing mind-numbing admin can be tempting.

And while some people claim that music passes the time, others find it distracting.

Now an app called Focus@Will claims to boost your attention span by up to 400 per cent, using 'neuroscience-based music channels'.

Tune in and out: An app called Focus@Will (pictured) claims to boost your attention span by up to 400 per cent, using 'neuroscience-based music channels'

The music is designed to help people focus and 'effortlessly zone out distractions' as well as retain information while studying, writing and reading.

Half of people listen to music while working, but it could be the 'wrong' music, according to the company behind the app, because songs with lyrics are designed to connect with people intellectually and emotionally – distracting them.

The app has 'attention amplifying' music channels, which the San Francisco-based start-up says are scientifically designed 'to engage with the brain's limbic system.

'This soothes the easily distracted fight or flight mechanism, increasing attention span and general focus,' it says.

The music is designed to help people focus, reduce distractions, 'effortlessly zone out distractions' and retain information while studying, writing and reading. The app is available for iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as on PCs (pictured)

The firm says that trials of the app showed a 15 per cent increase in focus biomarkers 'and up to 400 per cent extended session time' It is designed to help people focus for a full 100 minutes (pictured), after which scientists think the brain needs a quick break

The app was developed with neuroscientists, including Dr Stephen Sideroff, UCLA professor of psychology.

The firm says that trials showed a 15 per cent increase in focus biomarkers 'and up to 400 per cent extended session time'.

'Focus@Will helps you study more efficiently and work smarter,' it said.

The firm beleives that the majority of people can only concentrate for a maximum of 100 minutes before needing a quick break.

But it says that Focus@Will makes it easier for people to get into the concentration 'zone' and stay there.

The app works by soothing the limbic system, which is always on the lookout for danger, sex and food.

It typically takes around 20 minutes to settle into a task and for the brain to get used to noises or distractions in an environment and tune them out.

The app offers a number of pieces of music, which play a specific role in influencing how the brain acclimatises to an environment and reducing distractions and play in a set order to make sure people stay focused.

'Characteristics such as musical key, intensity, arrangement, speed, emotional values, recording style and much more determine what is played where and when,' the company says.

It claims that the app enables people to concentrate for a full 100minute cycle, instead of being distracted and having to re-focus.

'Our exclusive instrumental music library is scientifically and artistically curated and includes a significant number of newly commissioned works from well-known music producers and composers that you won't hear anywhere else,' the company says.

A basic version of the app is available free for iPhones and Android handsets, but in-app purchases for £2.99 or £31.99 are needed to access all the features. There is also a free trial available that can be used on computers.

The app offers a number of pieces of music, which play a specific rile in influencing how the brain acclimatises to an environment and reducing distractions. An iPad screen showing the options available is pictured