The Benefits of Studying with Music
Does Music Help You Study?
You've been studying every spare second you've had in preparation for that incredibly detailed Biology exam that's coming up soon. You continually trudge past midnight during your nightly, starlit studying sessions, and the hours multiply. What if, instead of spending hours upon hours of silence in your bedroom, there was a more useful practice?
The Theory
You've probably heard that music can help you study. But do you understand why your friends and professors are asking you to download iTunes? Music has been shown to have a number of beneficial effects on the human body and brain in studies. Music stimulates both the left and right hemispheres of the brain at the same time, which will help you learn more and remember more. Learn how music affects your body and mind, and how to use songs to help you study!
Proven to Ease Student Stress
Students' stress levels are high in the middle of a hectic semester. This is the ideal time to review your class notes while listening to music, as it has been proven to help alleviate stress! According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, students should "listen to music." Both healthy people and people with health problems will benefit from music as a stress reliever. Listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety levels in heart patients, according to research” (UMD Medical Center). This statement demonstrates the potent impact that music can have on the human body. So, before heading to a research session, turn on the radio to help you relax.
Music allows them to process their feelings and strengthen their resolve in the face of adversity. People often turn to music that they can relate to in order to cope with stress. If university life has you feeling down, dazed, or distracted, it may be a good idea to turn on some music. It will not only assist you in concentrating on your research, but it will also assist you in reducing stress and putting you in a learning mood.
Reduce Test Anxiety
Anxiety can become a debilitating impediment to students' ability to learn from their textbooks. What are students' options for dealing with it? Let's pretend you were given a free, relaxing massage at the beginning of each study session for the rest of your college career. As you went over your notes, you would feel less anxious and tense. While achieving this feat may be difficult for the average college student, the next best thing is easily available to students all over the world. According to USA Today, “one study found that music has an effect on anxiety levels that is similar to getting a massage” (Christ). It's official: listening to music will help you relax just as much as getting a massage!
Before going to the library, anxious students should put in their earbuds. They'll be at ease, relaxed, and ready to take on chapter after chapter.
If you're like many students who suffer from anxiety and stress while studying, try listening to rap music. According to a Cambridge University study, hip-hop music has an uplifting effect on listeners, which can help them embrace, handle, and deal with mental health problems more effectively. There are many types of rap, so find one that you enjoy if it means giving your brain the extra boost it requires.
Improve Your Performance
Music has been shown to help people perform better in high-pressure situations, such as finals week, a bi-annual high-pressure event. Music has been shown in studies to help students convert from coal to diamonds, allowing them to shine under pressure. “Want to make the game-winning shot when the stakes are high?” asks USA Today. Listen to some upbeat music before the big game... basketball players who struggled under pressure in games performed vastly better during high-pressure free-throw shooting if they first listened to catchy, upbeat music and lyrics” (Christ). This applies to you and your studious peers who are dealing with high-pressure situations. Turn up the volume on that 80s-style boom box!
It can even cure pain!
So, you showed up to the last Conquistadors basketball game with the intention of improving your performance with some music therapy. You were pumped up and ready to play your best moves on the court until you sprained your ankle landing a slam dunk. Oh, no! Now, whenever you try to study, all you can think about is the pounding pain in your ankle! Have you ever tried studying while listening to music? Music has such a strong effect on the body, according to USA Today, that it can actually help relieve pain. Music has been shown to decrease the perceived intensity of pain in a variety of settings, including geriatric care, intensive care, and palliative medicine.
Your midterm and your ankle pain are no match for your favorite album and concentrated mind! Listening to music can help you relax by lowering your blood pressure, easing muscle tension, and increasing your attention span, similar to how a lullaby can.
It will help you focus more
A Stanford study discovered that music “moves [the] brain to pay attention,” rather than distracting college students. Researchers found that “music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions, and updating the event in memory” using musical compositions from the 1800s (Baker). “The goal of the study was to look at how the brain sorts out events, but the research also revealed that musical techniques used by composers 200 years ago help the brain organize incoming information,” they say (Baker). Students can use Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven to help them categorize information, which is a valuable asset while studying.
Proven to improve brain functions
Music has been shown to increase cognitive performance, which is perhaps one of the most convincing reasons to listen to music while studying. In a nutshell, music improves brain function! “Background music has been shown to improve cognitive performance. Listening to music on a test helped test-takers finish more questions in the time allotted and get more correct answers, according to an older study. According to more recent research, whether or not music improves cognitive function is contingent on whether or not the music first improves a person's emotional state” (Christ).
Evidence now shows that if you want to improve your brain performance while researching, you must first improve your emotional state by listening to music you enjoy!
Musical activity is a type of cognitive exercise for the brain that prepares it for future challenges. As a result, people who start learning music at a young age, particularly before the age of seven, have healthier brains and are less likely to develop debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's or Dementia. However, you do not have to wait until you reach a certain age to benefit from music. Whether you're a freshman or a senior, you can start exercising your brain right now by keeping your favorite device and earphones close by during any study session.
Music, Memory, Emotions
Music, memory, and emotion have all been associated with recent studies. Petr Janata has conducted two studies to support his claim that music, memory, and emotion are related. “Music serves as a potent trigger for retrieving memories,” he discovered in his first study. Janata used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of students' brains while playing popular songs from their childhood and adolescence in his second study. “After each excerpt, the student answered questions about the song, such as whether it was familiar or unfamiliar, how enjoyable it was, and whether it was associated with any specific incident, episode, or memory” (UC Davis).
Have you ever wondered why it's easier to remember song lyrics than the periodic table of elements? This is because your brain searches for patterns in order to better comprehend, remember, and process data. It's the same reason why, since the earworm or catchy bit, music producers have always included a hook in their songs.
Cornelius Eckert, a psychiatrist, coined the term "earworm" in 1979. It occurs when a section of a song becomes stuck in your head for an extended period of time and you are unable to remove it. This happens to be one method of enhancing memory, which is why certain language classes are set to a musical pattern of ear-catching melodies.
End Your Study Session with Classical Music
We now know that music and memory are inextricably connected in the brain, and that music can aid learning. However, all of your homework has left you tired! You lay down beneath your blankets, closing the textbooks, but your mind is still buzzing from all of the information you've absorbed. Are you having trouble sleeping? Music, on the other hand, will help you wind down after a long day of studying. “It has been proven that listening to classical music effectively treats insomnia in college students, making it a safe and inexpensive alternative to sleep-inducing medications” (Christ).
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