Lauren Moon

Are you a student who enjoys some good tunes while studying? There have been quite a few studies done on how impactful music can be while studying; however, some say that music can be quite distracting. 

Some researchers believe that listening to music while studying can be a distraction with certain limitations. According to Dr. Timothy Bryon, from the University of Wollongong Australia stated that listening to music with vocals are more likely to decrease our working memory. (Bryon 2019). This is a result of reading and comprehension decreasing. Listening to music with vocals can cause you to forget to focus on what you’re studying.  An Austrian researcher, Bill Thompson, with the help of others came up with an experiment. The experiment determined the two factors music has on people and they are mood and distraction. The study determined that those who listened to music loud and fast had a decrease in their performance. 

On the other hand, the benefits of studying while listening to music that researchers from Florida National University (2019) have found are that music can not only activate the left and right side of the brain, but it does this at the same time and this helps improve memory. Another benefit would be the ease of stress. With midterms right around the corner many of us get stressed. Music is a great tool to use while under pressure. Researchers state that music can help lower heart rate, anxiety and even blood pressure. Next, this can help to improve your performance. With high pressure comes great results. Music is a great way to control those intense moments. 

 According to a study done by Vaughn College in 2019, there are certain music genres that should be played during certain study sessions. For example, classical music helps jump start your brain’s performance while studying math. While reading and writing, music with no vocals would work best. For those deep concentration studies use electronic music. 

One way that  music can help is by creating a playlist. Just like when you have a long commute to school and you turn on your car playlist, create one for your studies. This allows you to stay focused and not touch the skip button every couple of songs. Make the list to amount to less than an hour to allow time for a break. Be sure to keep the volume at a low level. 

With midterms around the corner be sure to take the time to create your playlist, study and ace those exams!

References

Best music to listen to while studying and their benefits. Vaughn College. (2020, November 11). Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.vaughn.edu/blog/best-study-music-and-benefits/. 

Bryon , D. T. (2019, October 17). 2019: Is it ok to listen to music while STUDYING? – University of Wollongong. UOW. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2019/is-it-ok-to-listen-to-music-while-studying.php. 

Team, M. (2019, August 13). The benefits of studying with music. Florida National University. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.fnu.edu/benefits-studying-music/.