Does Music help you Study? Let’s bust your Myth

 

Numerous people listen to music while studying and working as they think it increases concentration & focus. Others avoid music as it hampers their work. They don’t even like anyone whispering around if they are working.

The arguable factors on which some people second Music while studying are:

  • improves mood
  • increases motivation
  • improves memory and brain stimulation
  • helps in better management of pain and fatigue

After reading this, it seems a fair deal to listen to music while studying. But not everyone agrees to it. Hence let’s find out in this article what is the science behind “Does Music help you Study?”

Pros of listening to music while studying

Motivation

Whenever you are stuck with large piles of exhausting homework, your commitment to continuing studying may have started to flag long before you finished.

Perhaps you promised yourself a reward to get through the study session. But now it seems a tough task. Research suggests music can activate the same reward centers in your brain as other things you enjoy. And rewarding yourself with your favorite music can provide the motivation you need to learn new information. Even listening to your favorite songs during study breaks motivates you to study harder.

Mood Booster

Music helps in reducing stress and promotes optimism. A good mood generally improves your learning outcomes. You’ll find it easy to study and learn new material when you’re feeling good. Long hours of studying can be stressful, especially when you don’t entirely understand the subject material. If you feel overwhelmed or depressed or even a bit sad, listen to some relaxing that calms down your nerves.

Concentration

According to a 2007 study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, music especially classical music can help your brain absorb and interpret new information more easily.

The brain processes the abundance of information received from your surrounding by separating it into smaller segments.

The music tries to engage your brain in such a way that it pays better attention to events and makes predictions about what might happen. Hence if you struggle to understand new concepts, listening to music could make this process easier. The ability to make better predictions about events to reasoning skills is one of the important factors as well.

But improved reasoning abilities won’t help you to answers in the examination. But you would notice a difference in your ability to reason your way to these answers based on the information you do have.

Hence music improves focus.

Memorization

According to a 2014 study, listening to classical music seemed to help older adults perform better on memory and processing tasks. They suggested that certain types of music boost memorization abilities and other cognitive functions. Music stimulates your brain just like exercise.

The more you exercise, the stronger your muscles become. Hence giving your brain a cognitive workout could help strengthen it similarly.

Cons of listening to music while studying

Distraction

We discussed above how music prevents sadness or stress by distracting your mind and helps you uplift your spirits.

But distraction might not be what you’re looking for when you need to hit the books.

If you’re trying to solve a term paper or a difficult calculus equation, loud or fast music would just interrupt your thoughts and hamper the process.

Weak Memory

Working memory refers to the information you use for problem-solving, learning, and other cognitive tasks. You use it to remember:

  • items on a list
  • steps for solving a math problem
  • a sequence of events

Most people are capable to work with a few pieces of information only at a time. A high working memory capacity means you can handle more material. Listening to music can reduce working memory capacity. If you aren’t able to manipulate multiple pieces of information, listening to music can make it even more difficult.

Lower Reading Comprehension

Fast music, loud music, and music with lyrics can cause difficulty in understanding and absorbing reading material.

Even if you are reading literature, a novel, or some hard biology textbook, soft classical music with a slow tempo can be a better choice.

What music works best?

Now that you have compared the pros and cons, know what kind of music can benefit you.

  • Music with no lyrics. Music with lyrics can cause distraction.
  • Slow, instrumental music. Researchers prefer classical music, but you can opt for soft electronic, space, or ambient, the kind you hear at a spa or while getting a massage.
  • Avoid surprising or experimental music. Music with variations and without fixed rhythm makes you guessing the next thing, hence causes distraction and loss of focus.
  • Low volume. Study music should play in the background volume. Too loud music can disrupt your thinking process.
  • Songs that you don’t have strong feelings about. Listening to music you either love or hate can affect your ability to concentrate.
  • Stream commercial-free music. Too many advertisements may annoy you and derail your train of thought.
  • Cut noises. Noises from roommates, children, neighbors, co-workers, traffic, etc. become constant disruptions and keep you from getting anything done.
  • Nature sounds. Outdoors, workplaces, or study desks, soft nature sounds might provide a relaxing atmosphere that makes your work more pleasant.

You can opt for:

  • waterfalls and rushing rivers
  • ocean waves
  • rain
  • birdsong and rustling leaves

Listen to them on YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and other streaming services.

  • White noise. If random sounds in the background interrupt your concentration and focus, white noise, which muffles background noise, can help you focus. Try a white noise machine or online generator, or have some white noise generators at home already by tuning your radio to static or turning on a fan.
  • Binaural beats. Binaural beats are auditory illusions produced when you hear two different sounds at the same time, one in each ear. These sounds have similar frequencies, but they aren’t the same. Your brain takes the difference between these two sound frequencies — say, 187 Hertz (Hz) in the left ear, 201 Hz in the right — and produces a third sound at the frequency of this difference, or 14 Hz. This is the sound you hear.

Many find these beat stimulations beneficial for a range of issues, including:

  • anxiety
  • inattention
  • insomnia

Reports suggest binaural beats could help improve concentration and the ability to stay on task, especially for people with ADHD.

 

Summary

Hera Public School believes that music can improve your mood and help you feel more motivated to tackle important tasks, but it can cause problems as well. Be mindful of what music you choose and when. If you still struggle to focus, it may help to consider white noise or other audio options instead.

 

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