Does Listening To Music Help To Study Better?

Listening to music is a tool that can improve performance when studying, but one must take into account that not all people respond in the same way to auditory stimuli. Therefore, people need to be careful.

For example, some people need a quiet environment to concentrate on their studies, while others need background music to improve their concentration.

How can listening to music help you study?

The auditory learning style stimulates areas of the brain that are predisposed to the acquisition of knowledge. In other words, listening to music is useful if you have the opportunity to learn through sound. This is especially true for learning a language.

Another important thing to consider is the ability to concentrate. That is, not all people can do it on the same level. It is natural for some to be able to study in a hectic environment, while a minimal sound will interrupt the concentration of others.

Let’s explore the best ways to take advantage of music during your studies. Remember that everyone is different and that people with an auditory learning style are more likely to benefit from it.

1. Listening to music at moderate volume

The brain can focus on studying when listening to music at moderate volume. In this case, it produces a relaxing effect that helps maintain continuity. The level of mental exhaustion thus decreases.

2. Classical music

Studies like the one quoted below support the benefits of classical music when studying. Science promotes certain types of melodies so you can implement this method and see the results for yourself.

3. A playlist

Try creating a playlist to avoid long pauses. The fewer breaks you have, the more effective your study time will be. A playlist must be at least two hours long.

Disadvantages of listening to music while studying

Not everything is beneficial when it comes to listening to music while studying, so there are some drawbacks. The following list contains the negative aspects of music during concentration.

1. It diverts the focus of attention

As you may already know, not everyone can multitask. This means that some need to seek a quiet environment to focus on their study. In short, the brain cannot ignore music.

2. Listening to music normalizes low productivity

Classical conditioning occurs when you get used to listening to music while studying. In short, study time becomes a conditional stimulus for melodies. This means that you expect to have background music every time you study.

This condition affects productivity when you become addicted to music to study and you do not give your brain a chance to focus.

3. Listening to music leads to unnecessary contact with devices

It is common for people to listen to music through their mobile devices and use apps like YouTube to do so. This is a double distracting factor.

Studies on the subject

The School of Medicine at Stanford University conducted one of the studies that demonstrated the benefits of classical music for the brain in 2007. It revealed the following:

• This type of music promotes the storage and interpretation of information. This is because harmonic melodies with a moderate volume increase a person’s concentration.
• Classical music is equivalent to a workout in the brain. Thus, during his studies, classical music strengthens the brain areas that involve attention, interpretation and prediction of events.

These findings suggest that people who listen to this type of music while studying will do better in the academic field. This is because their brain acquires the ability to better interpret new information.

A recent study conducted in 2019 revealed that music activates neural pleasure centers. It also reveals that people’s favorite music increases their motivation.

Choosing the type of music you want to listen to while studying

Based on what we have said so far, we can apply some rules to better choose music for studies. It will be necessary to maintain a moderate volume at all times so that the sound is not disturbed.

In addition, these effective tips will help you improve your concentration:

• Ideally, you should choose a type of music that encourages intellectual ability such as classical music – according to the above studies.
• In some cases, the study topics will not be new and you will not receive new information, but only reinforce existing information. You can choose your favorite music if that is the case.
• Do not play music on your mobile phone as it will force you to have it nearby and interact with it. This is counterproductive when trying to concentrate.

When to choose silence?

Despite the benefits of listening to music while studying, there are times when you may need a quiet environment to do so. As you know, everything in abundance is harmful. In this case, you may become addicted to listening to music every time you study.

Finally, use music for the more advanced stages of your studies when you have already had a first approach to the subject. This means that you need to study in silence in the initial stages or when you need to concentrate fully.