Students get pressure to succeed from parents, professors, and themselves. It comes with the responsibility to find better ways to increase productivity while studying. People try different methods of improving their studying, and while some are successful, others might harm a student’s goals. In recent years, music has been linked with increased productivity when working, so the question is, does it have the same effect on learning? In this text, we weigh the pros and cons of listening to music while learning and offer tips on making it work for you.
Pros
Incorporating music into your study sessions has various benefits. But the music needs to be soothing and relaxing. So let’s check out the benefits.
Reduces Stress
College can be overwhelming, and it’s easy for students to succumb to the pressure. For example, studying new concepts can sometimes be stressful and sometimes discouraging, especially in the more challenging subjects. Listening to music encourages the release of endorphins which encourage positive emotions and can improve your mood. A positive mood means a student will be better positioned to face any task.
Helps You Study When You’re Tired
Sometimes a student will be in a situation where they feel tired but must keep going. It can be in the form of working on assignments all night or studying for a test you’re unprepared for. It might be difficult to stay focused when you start tiring, and that’s where music becomes important. Music can stimulate you and keep you focused. It can also help prevent daydreaming, for example, when a student stares at the material without grasping anything or making any progress.
Helps Drown Out Noise
Sometimes you need to create your own noise to drown out your environment. You can’t always find the perfect environment to study, and sometimes you must adapt to the noise around you. One way to do this is through listening to music. It’s better to listen to some tunes you choose than listen to your roommate having some friends over.
Cons
Despite the benefits of incorporating music in study sessions, it can also be a disaster. Some of the drawbacks include the following.
Loss of Concentration
Music can help you stay focused but also affect your concentration. When you listen to music with lyrics, your brain will try to allocate some resources to decoding the music. Thus, you will lose concentration and even become tempted to browse sites like https://us.payforessay.net/.
If you’re going to listen to music, listen to tracks with no lyrics and try to manage the volume. Stick to silence if you’re dealing with a demanding task requiring your full concentration.
Triggers Memories
The same way music can improve your mood, it can also ruin it. Some songs can trigger bad memories for you, leading to a negative mood and attitude, affecting your productivity. The best way to avoid this scenario is to avoid music that’s too dark. On the other hand, you also don’t want to listen to music that’s too upbeat; it reminds you of some good memories, for example, a party you attended. So, create a study playlist to control what you listen to when studying.
Tips for Using Music to Study
Studying to music might be useful in some scenarios, but it can also negatively affect your productivity. So you should ask yourself, do I really need it? If so, here are some tips you can benefit from.
Listen to the Right Type of Music
While we all have different tastes in music, there are specific genres that might go well with learning. They include classical music, which is known to be relaxing, or nature sounds, for example, waterfalls, which can be great at drowning out the noise.
Music Without Lyrics
You don’t want your mind trying to interpret a song while you are studying for a calculus test. So, try listening to songs without lyrics, for example, guitar, piano, or violin instrumentals. They will make it easier to focus.
Manage the Volume
If you want to concentrate, you cannot just blast music into your ears; it will decrease your productivity and maybe even affect your hearing in the long run. So instead, set your music volume to a bit low, just enough to hear it clearly without affecting your concentration, like elevator music.
Final Thoughts
Music offers benefits but can also negatively affect productivity if you don’t use it well. The best way to discover what works for you is to try different types of music until you settle on one that soothes your mind and makes studying easier. However, understand that you don’t need music to study; if you’re already doing well academically and not struggling with concentration, then maybe you don’t need to try studying to music.
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