Are you unable to concentrate while studying? Well! It’s because no one has recommended you music for studying.
You have likely heard before that music helps you study. But, do you know why parents and professors are urging you to tune to iTunes? Studies have shown that music produces several positive effects on a human’s body and brain. Both the left and right brains come alive when listening to music. Starting both sides simultaneously can help improve learning and memory. Discover how music affects your body and brain, then learn how to use music for better study sessions.
below are a few benefits of listening to music
- better mood
- improved motivation
- boost concentration
- improved memory and brain function
- better management of pain, fatigue, and stress
Some people disagree that listening to music helps them concentrate better during their studies. What’s the deal — does this work or not?
Music doesn’t affect everybody precisely the same way, so there isn’t a simple yes/no answer.
Read on to learn more about the effect of studying with music and receive some helpful tips for making the most of your study playlist.
Does Music Help You Study Well?
Yes, music helps you study well; these reports are from people’s general statistics. Students and professors are among.
Proven to Ease Student Stress
Students often feel stressed during their busy semesters. It’s an excellent time to review your notes when listening to music because it helps reduce stress. Maryland Medical Center university students reveal that listening to music is good. Music is an effective way to relieve stress for both healthy individuals and people who suffer from medical conditions. According to research, listening to soothing music can help lower heart disease patients’ blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety levels. Songs alone can have a powerful effect on the human body. Turn on the radio to help fight off stress before going to class.
Music is a way for people to process emotions and strengthen them through being overwhelmed. Music has been shown to help people cope with stress by connecting to their feelings. If university life has made you feel down, dazed or distracted, it may be a good idea to listen to music. It not only helps you focus on your studies, but it will also help keep you calm and relaxed when studying.
Reduce Test Anxiety
Students who suffer from anxiety often feel they cannot concentrate because of their worries. How can students avoid it? Let’s pretend you were offered a free, relaxing massage every time you went to class throughout your college career. As you review your notes, you’d experience lower anxiety and stress levels. Even though it may not be easy to get, an alternative solution is readily available to students worldwide. A study by USA Today revealed that listening to music has a calming effect on people, just like receiving a massage. Your favorite music can help ease stress just as much as a massage. Anxious students should put their headphones in before going to the library. They’ll feel relaxed, at ease, and ready to conquer each chapter.
If you’re like most students who suffer from anxiety and stress, listen to rap music while studying! Hip-hop music has been shown to affect its listeners’ moods positively. It helps people cope with their emotions and improve their lives. There is more than one type of rap music, so if you want to give your brain an extra boost, listen to whatever kind you enjoy most.
Improve Your Performance
Music helps people perform better under pressure, such as during exams. Music has been proven to be an effective tool for assisting students in transforming from coal into diamonds. Want to win the big game? Then practice until you’re ready for the moment. Play some upbeat music before the big game starts. Basketball players who tend to perform poorly when pressured during game situations were significantly better at making free throws after listening to catchy, upbeat songs and lyrics (Christ) before taking their shots. Everyone needs to be able to deal with pressure situations when they arise. Get yourself an old-fashioned boombox and crank up the volume.
It can even cure pain!
You showed up for the final Conquistadors basketball match, ready to play better after some music therapy. You were thrilled and energized when you played all of your most decisive moves on the court, but then you sprained your ankle after hitting a slam dunk. Oh no, Every time you try to study, your mind focuses on the pounding pain from your sprained ankle. Have you ever tried studying with music? According to USA Today, music is consistent in easing pain. Music effectively reduces pain for people in various situations, including elderly patients, those undergoing surgery, and others experiencing intense pain.
You’re ankle pain and midterms won’t stand a chance against your favorite album and focused mind! Just like a lullaby calms you down, listening to music can lower your blood pressure, ease muscle tension, and increase your attention span.
It will help you concentrate better.
Instead of distracting college students, a study at Stanford University found that music helps them focus. Researchers used musical compositions from the 1800s and found that “listening to music engages the parts of the brain responsible for paying attention, predicting what comes next, and remembering things” (Baker, 2018). Music choice was found to be influential in brain processing. This reveals, “The goal of the study is to examine how the brain organizes incoming information. But the research also showed that musical techniques used by musicians two centuries ago help the brain sort out incoming information.” Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven can improve students’ ability to categorize information, which helps them study better.
Proven in improving brain functions
One of the most compelling reasons for listening to music during a study period is because music has been proven to enhance cognitive performance. Music helps your brain function by making you feel good! Background music makes you happy, so you perform better at work. Another study found that test takers who listened to music were able to answer more questions correctly than those who did not listen to music. Recent research suggests that music improves cognitive function depending upon whether the music first enhances one’s emotional state. Listen to music that you enjoy to improve your brain power when studying.
Music helps keep us mentally sharp by training our brains for more mental challenges later. Musical training during childhood has been shown to improve brain health later in life. Specifically, children who started playing an instrument by age 7 had better brain function than those who didn’t start until after they were adults. You don’t need to wait until a certain period before benefiting from music. You don’t need to be a first- or fourth-year student to start exercising your brain now; just having your favorite device and headphones nearby whenever you want to study will help.
Music, Memory, Emotions
Studies have shown that listening to music has been linked to improved memory and emotional well-being. To support his claim, Petr Janata conducted two studies to show that music, memory, emotion, and mood are related. He first studied the effect of music on memory retrieval by playing popular songs from people’s childhoods and teenagers. Then he used fMRI to see if there were differences between the brain activity of students who had heard these songs before versus those who hadn’t. After each excerpt, the student would respond to questions about the music, including whether it was known to them, how enjoyable it was, and whether it was connected to any specific event, episode, or memory. This study shows that music, memories, and emotions are closely related. This research shows that studying while listening to background music is an effective way to learn.
Have you ever wondered why it’s easier for us to remember the words to songs than the periodic table of chemical elements? That’s because your mind looks for patterns to comprehend better, place, and process information. It’s the same reason musicians always write a hook into their songs—because what is more commonly known by the term “earworm” or catchy bit.
“Eckert” was coined in 1979 by psychologist Cornelius Eckert. It happens when a song section gets stuck in your mind for an extended period, and you can’t get rid of it. It just so happens that this is also one way to improve your brain’s memory, so some language courses are set up to be played in a musical rhythm. Some people believe that the benefits of listening to music aren’t dependent on the type of music you listen to; they’re instead reliant on how well your brain learns from the patterns of the songs.
What kind of music works best?
Listening to music when studying or working doesn’t make you less productive or effective.
- You don’t have to stop listening to music if you want to learn something. Keep these tips in mind when choosing music for work and studying:
- Don’t listen to songs with lyrics. Music that contains lyrics in a language you know will usually be more distracting than helpful.
- Select slow, instrumental music. Classical music is usually the focus of existing research, but if you’re not into this type of music, you could also consider softer electronic, space, or ambient music.
- Don’t play incidental or experimental music. You may wonder what to expect next if music has no steady beat. It can be distracting and may prevent you from concentrating on your work.
- Lower the volume. Music should be played at a low volume. If it’s too noisy, it might disturb your thoughts.
- Don’t listen to music if you’re firmly attached to it. Listening to music that you either love or hate may affect your ability to concentrate
- If possible, stream commercial-free music. Imagine yourself listening to your music when a commercial for toilet paper interrupts your playlist. Enough said.
5 categories of music for studying
here are five categories of music that will make your studying experience wonderful
1. Classical Music
Many students may think that listening to this kind of music is associated with old or snobby people. But it would be wrong not to try at least listening to classical music when studying. It’s been used for centuries, and it’s known for helping people relax and improve their sleep patterns. Furthermore, there is an incredible diversity of different composers and musical styles, from many modern ones with distinct approaches that you might enjoy.
Classical music is instrumental when you’re not feeling confident about your ability to concentrate. You might feel ambivalent about using it because it is less likely to distract you from whatever else you’re doing. You may enjoy the benefits of its harmonious and peaceful qualities.
You’re probably already familiar with some music written by famous composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. You might know some of the works of classical composers before they were born, such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Most people today have heard the results of modern composers who incorporate classical elements into their scores for major Hollywood films.
What kind of classical music is best for studying? The most common answer may be Mozart because the so-called “Mozart effect” has been widely publicized. The problem with this response is that, since the first study that found it, many other studies (including some by the author) have shown that there is not any merit to the idea that listening to Mozart enhances cognitive function. It all depends on which one you prefer.
That’s why, when choosing to study music for any subject, the best choice might be something that gives you a calm feeling of energy without attracting too much attention. It could be as easy as listening to music featuring a solo piano or acoustic guitar.
2. Ambient and Electronic Music
This genre of music is popular among college students, called “indie rock.” Many songs in this diverse genre can be used as compelling study music, from slow ambient music to fast EDM. It’s because, like classical music, listening to it often has a calming effect that makes your mind more receptive to learning new things.
If you’re going to college, you might want to get some music for free from sites where you can stream songs without paying anything—for example, Sōma.FM offers popular online music streams like Drone Zone, Grove Salad, and Secret Agent. And DigitallyImported offers online radio stations in almost every electronic genre. These include fantastic channels for relaxing study songs like SpaceDreams. If you use Spotify, you can access many songs and playlists for free.
On YouTube, ambient and electronic music tends to be present at all times. Listening to these songs makes me feel calm and ready to study.
3. World Music
When looking for music to study, it may be easier if you’re open to listening to music from other parts of the world. The styles around Europe are highly varied and may offer unusual sounds and rhythms you’ve never heard before. And a lot of music for studying isn’t necessarily suited to be used when you’re concentrating. (If you want to study without distraction, stick to classical pieces or songs you already know well.)
Check out different kinds of ethnic, folk, and indigenous music worldwide. There is an incredible variety of styles from India to Australia and the Caribbean. You can find many examples of all kinds of music videos from all over the world on YouTube. Music for concentration comes from almost every culture. Furthermore, some world music is also effective if it contains vocals (provided you don’t understand the languages being sung).
How would listening to music like these examples help you study better?
4. Instrumental and Atmospheric Rock
Some college students find studying most effective when listening to so-called “post-rock” music. Instrumental music ranges from bands that play mainly instrumental music to bands that include some vocal elements. Some bands do have vocals with lyrics that are difficult to discern. Because of this, their songs often provide ideal background music for studying because they don’t draw too much attention to themselves. Download instrumental by Theophilus Sunday
Check out the music of bands such as Explosives in the Sky, Mogwais, Sigur Róss, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They often use ethereal or atmospheric sounds rather than traditional song structures. Many songs follow a minimalist narrative structure where they gradually build up to an exciting climax.
Like other types of studying music videos, YouTube is an excellent place to discover new post-rock songs and artists that you may want to listen to. Next time you need to study for an exam, try listening to these songs instead.
5. Instrumental Jazz
If you don’t think you’re a big jazz fan, it might be worth trying out some of its softer styles. It might surprise you how inspired and relaxed it makes you feel. Instrumental jazz music may be ideal for studying if you’re not usually a big fan of the genre. Even if you don’t enjoy listening to it, the genre can be an excellent background for studying without distracting you or making you want to stop and listen instead of studying.
Many well-known jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans, created many mellow songs that would be perfect for background music during studying. For example, listen to the following selections while studying.
Conclusion
In conclusion, music has been proven to help students study better than anything else. In fact, studies show that listening to music during class helps improve memory retention rates, increases focus, improves learning, and boosts creativity. So next time you’re cramming for a test, grab your headphones and blast some tunes!
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