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Pros and Cons: Listening to Music While Studying for Optimal Focus

Integrating music into your study routine may seem like a mere method of enjoyment, but it transcends this perception. It is, in fact, a powerful cognitive tool that has been proven to have remarkable effects on our learning capabilities. Research continues to shed light on the profound influence of music on studying, unveiling an array of benefits that contribute to more effective, focused, and enjoyable learning experiences.

Advantages of Studying With Music

1. an impressive aid in studying.

Venturing into the depths of how music helps us study, it’s essential to recall Dr. Gordon Shaw’s groundbreaking theory, ‘ The Mozart Effect ‘. This theory originated in the 1990s when Shaw extensively studied brain theory and spatial reasoning in problem-solving. His research with students led to the intriguing conclusion that frequent exposure to Mozart’s “ Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major ” boosted their IQ by nine points.

Not only does music provide a pleasant background for studying, but it also enhances endurance, keeping students engaged for extended periods. The persistence needed to master new material often clashes with the monotony of the task. Music comes into play here, transforming the tedious process into an engaging, even enjoyable experience.

2. A Powerful Catalyst for Focus

Music plays a crucial role in maintaining focus during study sessions in the era of endless distractions. It acts as a gentle, steady undercurrent, tuning out external disturbances. As you immerse yourself in your study material, music provides a consistent, comforting backdrop, allowing your mind to anchor itself firmly to the task.

Music mitigates the whirl of distracting thoughts and allows your brain to steer its attention to studying. It’s akin to a cognitive anchor, helping your brain bypass the temptations of wandering thoughts and bringing them back to the study material.

3. An Incredible Instrument for Concentration

Scientific studies, including brain imaging scans, have highlighted the effect of music on concentration. Listening to music activates the brain’s left and right hemispheres simultaneously, significantly bolstering learning abilities. By triggering different areas of your brain, music helps maintain its agility and health. Thus, nurturing your ability to concentrate by merely tuning into some serene sounds is within your grasp.

The influence of music on concentration is multifaceted. It helps reduce anxiety and facilitates healthy emotional processing, leaving your brain free to concentrate on the task at hand.

4. A Potent Enhancer of Academic Performance

Incorporating music into learning curriculums has repeatedly proven beneficial, significantly improving academic performance. For example, a primary school in Bradford achieved a remarkable rise in SATS results by merely integrating more music into the curriculum.

5. A Dynamic Motivator for Studying

One of the most profound challenges in studying is sustaining the motivation to persist through complex material. Music, with its varied tones, rhythms, and melodies, injects an element of enjoyment into the learning process, rekindling motivation and interest.

Creating a personalized learning playlist can serve as a backdrop to your study routine. Listening to your favorite tracks can inspire focus and stimulate your eagerness to learn, thus making studying an enjoyable endeavor rather than a dreaded task.

6. A Proven Memory Booster

Music is a well-recognized mnemonic device. It triggers the memory centers in the brain, making recall more manageable. To put it simply, music can play a vital role in helping you remember what you’ve studied. The melody and rhythm of music can link to specific information, making it easier to retrieve when needed.

Songs with catchy lyrics often get stuck in our heads. This phenomenon, often referred to as an “ earworm ,” can be put to productive use in learning. Pairing important information with melodies can help you remember details with greater accuracy.

7. A Mindful Way to Manage Stress

The soothing power of music is no secret. Numerous studies show that music can significantly reduce stress and anxiety levels. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by your study load, listening to relaxing music can help restore calm, allowing you to refocus and study more effectively.

Music has a unique link to our emotions; thus, it can serve as an extremely effective stress management tool. It can be a powerful medium to connect with our feelings, helping us process them more healthily and ultimately enhancing our ability to learn.

8. A Creative Pathway for Problem Solving

Disadvantages of Music During Study Sessions

While the benefits of integrating music into study sessions are indeed substantial, it’s crucial also to be aware of its potential drawbacks. Just as music can enhance cognitive function, it may hinder optimal learning under certain circumstances. Understanding these potential pitfalls is essential to leverage music’s benefits while minimizing its potential for distraction or inefficiency.

1. A Potential Distraction

While music can promote focus, it can also have the opposite effect, particularly when it contains lyrics. Lyrics can interfere with the processing of linguistic information, such as reading or writing. In essence, your brain may struggle to focus on the study material because it’s also attempting to process the words in the song. This is especially true if the music’s language aligns with your study material.

Moreover, complex musical compositions with intricate harmonies and melodies can similarly draw attention away from the task at hand. Rather than serving as a gentle backdrop, such music can command cognitive resources, leading to divided attention.

2. An Interrupter of Deep Learning

Research suggests that silence is sometimes more beneficial for complex tasks that require deep cognitive processing. Some learners may find music interrupting their thought process, making solving complex problems or grasping challenging concepts more difficult. Deep learning requires an undisturbed mental space, and music can fragment this continuity for some individuals.

3. A Misleading Sense of Mastery

Listening to music while studying can create a more enjoyable learning environment, which can sometimes lead to an inflated sense of understanding. Research indicates that students who study with music tend to believe they’ve learned the material better than they actually have. This can be problematic when it comes to recalling and applying information during an examination or in a practical setting.

4. An Unwanted Emotional Influence

While music can help manage stress and enhance mood, it can also evoke strong emotions that might distract from studying. For example, a song that reminds you of a particular event or person might trigger a flood of memories and emotions, leading your mind away from the study material.

5. A Potential Cause of Overstimulation

Listening to music while studying can lead to sensory overload, particularly for individuals with certain learning styles or neurological conditions. For instance, individuals with ADHD may find music overly stimulating and distracting. Similarly, individuals with auditory processing issues or those who are particularly sensitive to sound might find that music more hindrance than a help.

While music can indeed be a powerful tool to enhance studying, it is not universally beneficial. Understanding one’s learning style and preferences is vital to ensure the best use of music during study sessions. Just as the right kind of music under the right conditions can boost learning, the wrong type, or using it inappropriately, can have the opposite effect. Thus, balance and self-awareness are key when leveraging music in the pursuit of knowledge.

Does listening to music improve GPA?

No direct scientific evidence suggests that listening to music while studying will necessarily improve your GPA. The relationship between music and studying is complex and depends on various factors, such as the type of music, the task at hand, and individual learning styles. For instance, some students may find that certain types of instrumental or classical music improve their concentration and subsequently enhance their study effectiveness. However, the potential impact on GPA would also depend on many other factors related to study habits, comprehension, test-taking skills, and so forth.

Is it better to listen to music while working or to work in silence?

The choice between working with music or in silence is largely personal and can depend on the task at hand. Silence may be the best option if the work involves complex cognitive processing or linguistic comprehension, as it allows for deeper concentration. On the other hand, for more mundane or repetitive tasks, music can make the process more enjoyable and may help maintain focus. Importantly, music without lyrics or with a consistent rhythm tends to be less distracting. The key is understanding your work style and the nature of the task.

Why does music help me focus with ADHD?

Research has suggested that individuals with ADHD can benefit from listening to music during tasks that require concentration. Music, particularly with a steady rhythm, can stimulate the brain’s production of certain chemicals like dopamine and norepinephrine, which play crucial roles in attention and focus. Moreover, listening to music can make the task more enjoyable, which may improve motivation and persistence in individuals with ADHD. However, this isn’t universally true for everyone with ADHD. The type of music, the task, and personal preferences all play a role. Trying different approaches and seeing what works best for you is important.

Final Thoughts

The role of music in study and work environments is complex and multifaceted. The effects it has on productivity, focus, and creativity are contingent on a multitude of factors, including the nature of the task, the type of music, and the individual’s personal preferences and learning style. While research provides some guidance, the final decision on whether to incorporate music into study or work routines rests upon trial and error, as individuals gauge what methods best optimize their performance and well-being.

Furthermore, it’s essential to consider the limitations and potential drawbacks of this practice. Music can enhance mood and focus and can also be a source of distraction, particularly when engaging in complex cognitive tasks or when the music includes discernable lyrics. Hence, finding the right balance is crucial. Music is a tool that, when used strategically, can potentially improve both productivity and enjoyment in work or study environments. It underscores the importance of personalizing our learning or working styles, aligning our habits to our unique preferences, and continuously experimenting with ways to optimize our performance.

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Does Listening to Music Really Help You Study?

Experts from the department of psychology explain whether or not music is a helpful study habit to use for midterms, finals, and other exams.

By Mia Mercer ‘23

Students have adopted several studying techniques to prepare for exams. Listening to music is one of them. However, listening to music may be more distracting than helpful for effective studying.

There’s no season quite like an exam season on a university campus. Students turn to varying vices to help improve their chance of getting a good grade. While some chug caffeine, others turn up the music as they hit the books.

Although listening to music can make studying more enjoyable, psychologists from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences have found that this popular study habit is more distracting than beneficial. 

“ Multitasking is a fallacy; human beings are not capable of truly multitasking because attention is a limited resource, and you can only focus on so much without a cost,” cognitive psychologist Brian Anderson said. “So when you’re doing two things at the same time, like studying and listening to music, and one of the things requires cognitive effort, there will be a cost to how much information you can retain doing both activities.” 

In basic terms of memory, Anderson explained that we do a better job of recalling information in the same conditions in which we learn the material. So when studying for an exam, it’s best to mimic the exam conditions. 

“If you have music going on in the background when you study, it’s going to be easier to recall that information if you also have music on in the background when you take the exam,” Anderson said. “However wearing headphones will almost certainly be a violation during most exams, so listening to music when you’re studying will make it harder to replicate that context when you’re taking an exam.” 

Even though experts suggest listening to music can hinder your ability to retain information while studying, some students choose to continue the practice. Steven Smith, cognitive neuroscientist for the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences , provided some suggestions for students who wish to continue this study habit. 

 “In general, words are distracting,” Smith shared. “So if you want to listen to music while you study, try to listen to something that does not have words, or if it does have words, hopefully, it’ll be in a language that you don’t understand at all, otherwise that’s going to distract from the stuff you’re trying to study.”

Smith also suggested listening to familiar background music, because it’s less distracting than something new or exciting. Additionally, Smith provided some principles that generally result in better exam results. 

“Make sure your studying is meaningful because comprehension gets you so much further than raw repetition,” Smith shared. “Also, you must test yourself, because it’s the only way you can learn the material; this is called the testing-effect. And finally, try to apply the spacing-effect, where you spread out your study sessions rather than cramming your studying all together, allowing for better memory of the material.”

Regardless of how students decide to study for exams, it’s important to remember that we all learn differently.

“There are individual differences between everyone,” Smith said. “Some people need a study place that is boring, predictable, and exactly the same so that they can concentrate, and others find it more beneficial to go to different places to study. It’s true that there are different personalities, so try and find what study habit works best for you.” 

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Does Music Help You Study? Or is Silence Better?

• June 8, 2021

You walk into the room and your child is listening to music while they study. Do you tell them to turn it off so they can focus? Or do you encourage them to keep on listening? Read on to find out how to decide what to do.

In my house, we often have music on in the background while we play or do chores. But when I’m working, I can’t turn it off fast enough. I need quiet to focus! 🙉 But is that true for everyone?

Some of my students swear they need music to help them focus while studying. It’s hard to tell sometimes if they are really focusing better, or if the music is actually making them get off task. It begs the question: does music help or hurt when it comes to studying? 🎶

Is it better to study with music or silence? 

You may have heard of the “ Mozart effect ” - the belief that listening to classical music, like Mozart’s, can help students become smarter. It turns out that it’s not as straightforward as that, but there can be some benefits to listening to music during certain types of work.

Music improves students’ moods, meaning it’s good for mental health . Students are better able to focus on academic tasks when they are calm and happy, so listening to music that boosts their mood could be just what they need. 🤗

Music while studying is not for everyone. It seems to help more for students who have an extroverted personality  - introverts get overstimulated easier and might not be able to focus with music playing (ahem, me🙋🏻‍♀️).

If you find that music helps your child’s mood, but is too distracting during actual studying time, you can play music for 10-20 minutes before they start work. Then you get the benefits of a great mood without the distraction!

Does music help you concentrate better?

Sometimes. 🎵

Is your student studying in a loud environment? Background noise like other kids, street noises, etc. can be pretty distracting. A student’s brain is more easily pulled away from their task by noises that are startling, uneven, or sudden, which is how background noise can be. So music can help muffle those sounds and help keep them focused. 

Music is also great for when students need to do repetitive tasks . It’s easy to get distracted when the work doesn’t change much - think typing up a written essay or cutting and pasting for a presentation. In this case, music might help your student stay on task by providing just enough extra stimulation that they don’t get bored and wander away. 

What type of music is best for studying?

Okay, so you are ready to try some music while studying. But hold on, not all music is created equal. Choose the wrong type of music and you might accidentally decrease your student’s focus! 🙅

Studies show things like reading comprehension decrease when stimulating music is playing, so make sure you choose the right type of music for your activity.

For most work, like homework or practising for maths exams , your student needs mellow music that doesn’t change too much. Classical music can be a good choice, but not all students like it! You can also try easy listening or some slower-paced favourites. Experiment with what works and then put those songs in a playlist for next time.

If your student is doing something more repetitive, then the issue is more likely to be boredom. It’s okay to play more fast-faced music for this kind of work. Music can also help when kids are doing chores around the house! 

🚀 Music or no music, sometimes your student needs a little extra support with their studying. Let a GoStudent tutor help! With flexible scheduling experts in a wide range of subjects, we have just the help you need. Book a trial lesson today! 

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Curious Kids: is it OK to listen to music while studying?

Lecturer in Psychology, University of Wollongong

Disclosure statement

Timothy Byron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Wollongong provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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I am in year 11 and I like to listen to music when I am studying, but my dad says that my brain is spending only half of its time studying and the other half is distracted by listening. He says it is better to leave my phone out of my room and concentrate on studying rather than listening to music. Is it OK to listen to songs when I am studying? – Robert, Year 11 student.

It’s a good question! In a nutshell, music puts us in a better mood, which makes us better at studying – but it also distracts us, which makes us worse at studying.

So if you want to study effectively with music, you want to reduce how distracting music can be, and increase the level to which the music keeps you in a good mood.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do adults think video games are bad?

Music can put us in a better mood

You may have heard of the Mozart effect – the idea that listening to Mozart makes you “smarter”. This is based on research that found listening to complex classical music like Mozart improved test scores, which the researcher argued was based on the music’s ability to stimulate parts of our minds that play a role in mathematical ability.

However, further research conclusively debunked the Mozart effect theory: it wasn’t really anything to do with maths, it was really just that music puts us in a better mood.

Research conducted in the 1990s found a “Blur Effect” – where kids who listened to the BritPop band Blur seemed to do better on tests. In fact, researchers found that the Blur effect was bigger than the Mozart effect, simply because kids enjoyed pop music like Blur more than classical music.

Being in a better mood likely means that we try that little bit harder and are willing to stick with challenging tasks.

Music can distract us

On the other hand, music can be a distraction – under certain circumstances.

When you study, you’re using your “working memory” – that means you are holding and manipulating several bits of information in your head at once.

The research is fairly clear that when there’s music in the background, and especially music with vocals, our working memory gets worse .

Likely as a result, reading comprehension decreases when people listen to music with lyrics . Music also appears to be more distracting for people who are introverts than for people who are extroverts, perhaps because introverts are more easily overstimulated.

Some clever work by an Australia-based researcher called Bill Thompson and his colleagues aimed to figure out the relative effect of these two competing factors - mood and distraction.

They had participants do a fairly demanding comprehension task, and listen to classical music that was either slow or fast, and which was either soft or loud.

They found the only time there was any real decrease in performance was when people were listening to music that was both fast and loud (that is, at about the speed of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, at about the volume of a vacuum cleaner).

But while that caused a decrease in performance, it wasn’t actually that big a decrease. And other similar research also failed to find large differences.

So… can I listen to music while studying or not?

To sum up: research suggest it’s probably fine to listen to music while you’re studying - with some caveats.

It’s better if:

• it puts you in a good mood
• it’s not too fast or too loud
• it’s less wordy (and hip-hop, where the words are rapped rather than sung, is likely to be even more distracting)
• you’re not too introverted.

Happy listening and good luck in your exams!

Read more: Why do old people hate new music?

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to [email protected]

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March 3, 2020

Does Music Boost Your Cognitive Performance?

The answer depends on your personality

By Cindi May

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Music makes life better in so many ways. It elevates mood , reduces stress and eases pain . Music is heart-healthy , because it can lower blood pressure , reduce heart rate and decrease stress hormones in the blood. It also connects us with others and enhances social bonds . Music can even improve workout endurance and increase our enjoyment of challenging activities .

The fact that music can make a difficult task more tolerable may be why students often choose to listen to it while doing their homework or studying for exams. But is listening to music the smart choice for students who want to optimize their learning?

A new study by Manuel Gonzalez of Baruch College and John Aiello of Rutgers University suggests that for some students, listening to music is indeed a wise strategy, but for others, it is not. The effect of music on cognitive functioning appears not to be “one-size-fits-all” but to instead depend, in part, on your personality—specifically, on your need for external stimulation. People with a high requirement for such stimulation tend to get bored easily and to seek out external input. Those individuals often do worse , paradoxically, when listening to music while engaging in a mental task. People with a low need for external stimulation, on the other hand, tend to improve their mental performance with music.

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But other factors play a role as well. Gonzalez and Aiello took a fairly sophisticated approach to understanding the influence of music on intellectual performance, assessing not only listener personality but also manipulating the difficulty of the task and the complexity of the music. Whether students experience a perk or a penalty from music depends on the interplay of the personality of the learner, the mental task, and the music.

In the study, participants first completed the Boredom Proneness Scale , which is a personality test used to determine need for external stimulation. They then engaged in an easy cognitive task (searching for the letter A in lists of words) and a more challenging one (remembering word pairs). To control for practice and fatigue effects, half of the subjects completed the easy task first, while the other half completed the challenging one first. Participants finished both tasks under one of three sound conditions: (a) no music, (b) simple music or (c) complex music. All of the music was instrumental, and music complexity was manipulated by varying the number of instruments involved in the piece. Simple music included piano, strings and synthesizer, while complex music added drums and bass to the simple piece.

The data suggest that your decision to turn music on (or off) while studying should depend on your personality. For those with a high need of external stimulation, listening to music while learning is not wise, especially if the task is hard and/or the music is complex. On the simple task of finding A’s, such subjects’ scores for the music condition were the same (for simple music) or significantly worse (for complex music) than those for the silent condition. On the complex task of learning word pairs, their performance was worse whenever music was played, regardless of whether it was simple or complex.

For those with a low need of external stimulation, however, listening to music is generally the optimal choice. On the simple task of findings A’s, such participants’ scores for the music condition were the same (for simple music) or dramatically better (for complex music) than those for the silent condition. On the complex task of learning word pairs, the participants showed a small but reliable benefit with both simple and complex music, relative to silence.

The results suggest that there are substantial individual differences in the impact of music on cognitive function, and thus recommendations regarding its presence in the classroom, study hall or work environment may need to be personalized. Students who are easily bored and who seek out stimulation should be wary of adding music to the mix, especially complex music that may capture attention and consume critical cognitive resources that are needed for successful task completion. On the other hand, students with a low need for stimulation may benefit significantly from the presence of music, especially when completing simple, mundane tasks.

Before students decide to slip in their earbuds, though, they should carefully consider both their musical selection and the nature of the task. All of the music used in the present study was instrumental, and lyrical music will likely be more complex. Complexity appears to increase arousal, and the Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that a moderate level of arousal produces optimal performance. When there is too little or too much arousal, performance drops. Thus, the benefits of music for those with a low need for external stimulation that were observed here could diminish or even disappear with the added complexity of lyrics.

Similarly, increases in the complexity of a cognitive task might also reduce or eliminate the benefit of music. Although the “complex” task used in this study (learning word pairs) was only moderately challenging, the increase in complexity, relative to the simple task, was enough to reduce music’s positive effect. With a highly challenging cognitive task (e.g., text comprehension or exam preparation), even those with a low need for external stimulation may fail to show such an effect with music.

With the right (low-need-for-stimulation) personality, the right (instrumental) music and the right (low-to-moderately-difficult) task, the presence of music may significantly improve cognitive functioning. Given the many other physical, emotional and psychological benefits of music, that subscription to Spotify just might pay for itself!

Cindi May is a professor of psychology at the College of Charleston. She explores avenues for improving cognitive function and outcomes in college students, older adults and individuals who are neurodiverse.

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Should I be concerned about my teen's constant multitasking during homework?

Many teens multitask with media while doing their homework, and most of them think this has no effect on the quality of their work. Consider the stats :

• 51 percent of teens say they often or sometimes watch TV during homework.
• 50 percent often or sometimes use social media while doing homework.
• 60 percent often or sometimes text during homework.
• 76 percent often or sometimes listen to music during homework. (In fact, 50 percent of teens think listening to music helps their work vs. 6 percent who think it hurts.)

But, despite what kids think and do, frequently using several devices at a time affects the ability to focus. Productivity suffers when switching rapidly between different tasks because the brain has to re-focus every time it switches to a new activity . Over time, heavy multitaskers can also have trouble with face-to-face conversations.

The challenge for parents is figuring out what's normal (but frustrating) teen behavior and what are truly unhealthy study habits. Listening to music while doing homework seems harmless, but many studies have shown that listening to popular music with lyrics can hurt reading comprehension and the ability to do complex tasks, but that more "zen-like" and classical music does not. But if your teens' academics are slipping, that's a red flag. Discuss your concerns and talk about ways to structure homework time, such as turning off cell phones and TV for a certain amount of time or allowing kids to check their texts only after they complete each assignment. Consider asking your kids to write down assignments and have them check each off as they finish them. Maybe offer rewards for finishing in a timely manner, since multitasking tends to make homework time drag on.

If your kid is really having a tough time blocking out distractions and staying focused, you might need some technical assistance. If your kid's school uses a 1-to-1 device program, ask the teacher if it comes with some time-management software or other controls that allow you to restrict access to non-homework-related sites. If your kid is using your home computer to do work, you might consider a parental-control program such as OpenDNS or KidsWatch that lets you separate homework from playtime.

Common Sense Media offers the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based ratings and reviews. Our timely parenting advice supports families as they navigate the challenges and possibilities of raising kids in the digital age.

4 best music for homework that’ll dramatically improve your productivity

Choosing the right music for homework can help you focus better and learn faster.

Around 60% of students tend to listen to music while studying. Researchers also found that listening to music was the most popular side activity for teens who juggled studying with another task.

While we may prefer different genres of focus music, we can all agree that the right playlist has the magical ability to boost concentration.

This is because music activates the most diverse networks of the human brain. It’s been proven that people with ADHD focus better with the right music.

This is on top of  existing research  that has found listening to music reduces anxiety, blood pressure, and improves sleep quality, mood, and memory.

Johns Hopkins University researchers have done work on jazz performers improvising inside an fMRI machine to see which areas of the brain light up as well.

They found that jazz musicians make unique improvisations by turning off inhibition and turning up creativity.

In short, if you find the right music for homework, you can elevate both brain power and creativity.

While there isn’t a one-size-fit-all approach to this, let us help you narrow down some of the best genres for you to try:

Here are the five best music for homework to help you increase your productivity:

Having the right music matters, even for top athletes. Source: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

1. Classical music

When picking music for homework, you’ve probably heard how classical music can increase your focus when studying.

There’s a theory dubbed “The Mozart Effect” that suggests this genre of music can enhance brain activity and arouse your brain to focus.

There are also several studies done where students listening to classical music did better on quizzes than students with no music.

Suggestions:

• ClassicFM  (a free radio streaming platform that plays famous classical pieces)
• “Study Playlist: Classical Music” on Spotify
• “Classical Music for When You’re on a Deadline” on YouTube

2. Video game music 

This might surprise you but video game music is actually one of the best music for homework. According to Orion Academy , video game music is designed to keep you absorbed and focused — which is also great for memorising. 

When your brain is focused on just melody, it’s taking a break from trying to break down the lyrics of a song and thus increases your performance .

Video game music tends to stay at a relatively low, constant volume too, preventing you from becoming distracted by sudden increases in volume.

Since video game music is generally fast-paced, your brain will be constantly engaged in the task at hand.

• “Video game soundtracks” on Spotify
• “Video game music for studying” on YouTube
• Choose favourites from this list and create your own playlist!

If you’re someone who easily gets distracted, RnB may not be the best music for homework for you. There’s a high chance that you might spend too much time jamming to the lyrics of the song instead of focusing.

Though music under his genre generally has lyrics, many RnB fans reported feeling more relaxed, focused, and less stressed, which may have a positive impact on their ability to focus and learn.

• “Study R&B Smooth Songs ” on Spotify
• “Chill R&B Beats Mix – Beats to Relax and Study (Vol.1)” on YouTube

4. Nature sounds 

It’s been shown that nature sounds relax our nervous system. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  have also discovered that natural sounds boost moods and focus.

The study found employees were more productive and had more positive feelings when nature sounds were playing in the background while they worked.

Nature sounds include the soothing sounds of the rain, ocean waves on the beach or even the jungle. Some prefer listening to bird calls and animal noises, so feel free to explore if nature sounds aren’t the right music for homework for you. 

Relaxing Nature Sounds for Sleeping – Natural Calm Forest Waterfall Music Meditation Sound for Study on YouTube

“Nature Sounds For Concentration” on Spotify

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Studying to Music Can Put Your Brain in the Right Frame of Mind

What do Spotify, Pandora, iTunes and YouTube all have in common? If you said they’re some of your favorite go-to sights to hear your favorite music, then you may want to tune in more often. Did you know that studying to the right kind of music can make you feel less stressed, more focused and dare we say it, smarter? It’s true.

Let’s face it, no one likes to study. But how cool is it that music can be just what you need to get through the books easier while making your studying more productive?  Pretty cool, right? Want to hear more? Sit back, grab your headphones and learn how studying to the right kind of music may be more than just music to your ears.

Benefits of studying to music

Do you listen to music while you study, or do you prefer total silence? The jury is out on which is better since everyone is different; however, several research studies are proving that listening to the right kind of music can put your mind into study mode.

Here are some of the benefits of tuning in to the right tunes:

• Relaxes the mind
• Increases concentration
• Lessens distractions
• Improves focus
• Improves performance in high-pressure situations, such as mid-terms and finals week

Best genres to study to

Music is universal, and everyone’s tastes are different. You might be experiencing that right now with a roommate or a group of friends. What soothes one person might drive the other one to pull their hair out. Sound familiar? Since we all have different personalities, music preferences and even study habits you’re probably wondering which type of music is best.  We’ve done the homework for you (you’re welcome) with some suggested genres and examples of each that may help put your brain in the right frame of mind. Take a listen.

Classical music—Mind-boosting effect helps with mathematics

Before you dismiss classical music as “not your thing,” it’s worth a try. You’ve most likely heard of Mozart, one of our world’s greatest classical composers, but have you heard of the Mozart Effect ? A group of studies found listening to Mozart can cause a temporary “enhancement of spatial temporal reasoning performance,” which means the ability to think through long-term, more abstract solutions to logical problems.  In fact, the Mozart Effect has little to do with listening to Mozart and more to do with listening to music that activates a certain part of the brain. Even Albert Einstein was a fan of Mozart!

When it’s crunch time and you’re burning the midnight oil, try listening to Baroque classical music. Composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Handel are known for their up-beat music composed of 60 beats-per-minute. Studies revealed those who listened to music that played at 60 beats-per-minute showed a dramatic reduction in stress and an increased sense of relaxation It’s become a popular choice when you need to get work done.

Here are some benefits of listening to classical music:

• Improves test scores
• Reduces learning time
• Improves creativity and clarity
• Integrates both sides of the brain for more efficient learning
• Raises IQ scores

Sounds of nature—Keeps your brain engaged by increasing concentration

Have you ever tried studying in a noisy room? It can be annoying and frustrating to say the least. Calming music Nature sounds such as waterfalls, rain and the seashore, for example, can be extremely effective in masking white noise.

Here are some benefits or studying to the calming music of nature sounds:

• Masks voices and white noise which can be distracting
• Enhances cognitive functioning
• Optimizes concentration

Songs without lyrics—Great choice when reading and writing

The last thing you need is more words in your head when you’re reading your textbooks or writing a paper. Listening to songs without lyrics is a great way to stay focused without distraction.

Brian Eno’s Music for Airports —Chill-out electronic music for serious studying and deep concentration

You may want to crank this up for your next cramming session before your big exam. This album was specifically designed to relax stressed out travelers at airports. It’s also been shown as an effective tool when it’s time for serious studying and deep concentration.

Creating a playlist

It may sound obvious, but research revealed brain function decreases when you listen to music and sounds you don’t enjoy, making it difficult to focus and concentrate. So, be sure to choose music and sounds that make you happy.  Here are some tips for creating your playlist:

• Create your playlist in advance so you’re not fumbling to find a new song every few minutes.
• Keep your playlist to around 40-50 minutes—this is a great reminder to take a study break when it’s over. Plus, it helps you plan your study sessions to meet your concentration level.
• Avoid listening to the radio. Dialogue between radio personalities and commercials can be distracting.
• Turn it down. Listening to music at a moderate level is best.

With the new semester kicking off, now is the best time to start creating your playlist so it’s ready to go when you need it. Happy listening!

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The Ultimate Study Music Playlist

This is a playlist of my favorite study music. It’s great for homework, studying for exams, reading, and generally getting crap crossed off my many checklists.

I’ve been working on this playlist for several years, and it contains music (all non-lyrical) from a wide variety of genres and sources, including video game/anime/movie soundtracks. At the moment, it’s got about 240 songs for you to choose from.

Listening on another app? I’ve worked to mirror this study playlist to other services. Check them out below:

• Spotify Study Music Playlist
• Apple Music Study Playlist

If you’d like, you can study with me in another tab while this plays. You can also listen to the playlist on YouTube instead of on this page.

By the way – I create my own study music as well! If you’d like to give it a listen, here’s a playlist:

You can also follow me on Spotify or on YouTube if you want to be notified when new tracks are released.

Need even more study music?

Here are a few options.

Brain.fm – Music designed specifically to help you focus more effectively. It works really well for me, and I use it for around 50% of my research, writing, and reading sessions – the other half are mostly done with the playlist above.

Piano Study Playlist – If you’re in the mood for a more consistent playlist, check out this one full of solo piano tracks.

Coffitivity – Sometimes I’m in the mood for ambient noise instead of music, and the sounds of a bustling coffee shop are my personal favorite type.

Noisli – An ambient noise generator that lets you create your own mix using sounds like rain, thunder, fan, and white/brown/pink noise.

More Playlists

Work Vibes – My personal playlist of “getting-stuff-done” music. Most of the tracks here have vocals, so I wouldn’t read or study intently with them. But they’re great for crushing emails, working on design projects, or doing other work where I simply need to execute quickly.

Tom’s Workout Playlist – A collection of the tracks that usually accompany me to the gym.

M usic is an indispensable part of our life and you will hardly meet a person who doesn’t like listening to it. Of course, it can be a music of different genres, with or without lyrics, modern or classical, but people enjoy listening to music and can combine a variety of activities with it.

Young generations are also fans of music and every second student has always his headphones. Students listen to music everywhere: on-the-go, in public transport, in the shower and even when they do their homework. However, the last habit is quite controversial as scientists have different opinions about the effect music produces on studying. Let’s analyze the viewpoints of different scholars and decide whether pros or cons of listening to music while you do your homework will outweigh.

How can music be beneficial?

It is not surprising to see different studies about the influence of music on learning and their results are sometimes opposite to each other. Some scientists claim that music can influence the brain work positively as well as provide a learner with some huge advantages including:

• Useful for creative and reflection activities The study done at John Hopkin’s University confirms the viewpoint that music can be a great boost in writing , brainstorming, project work, problem-solving activities. It can improve productivity as well as be a perfect solution for several minutes of rest to recharge for the next activity.

Negative impact of music on doing homework

At the same time, many students still call music a distraction. Why does it happen? The answer is simple, students speak about absolutely different styles of music.

It goes without saying that listening to the song with words you will be more likely to distract from studying by repeating the words of the singer. This fact was confirmed by the University of Phoenix where researchers have proved that lyrics activates language-processing centers of the brain and that results in a lack of concentration and difficulties to recall the memorized information .

The last fact was described in the book “ Educational Psychology ”. Context-dependent learning means that people will recall information better in the same environment how they were memorizing it. If it was a music background at home, there are few chances that this background will be at school too, so information recalling will suffer greatly as well.

One more apparent point is a huge difference in people’s learning styles. Some people will have a much better productivity studying in silence, the others chewing a burger and one more group watching a TV. Music can be beneficial only to some of the students as any sound can affect the performance of others negatively. Consequently, it is impossible to make the only right conclusion about the ultimate benefit or the toughest negative impact of music on student’s performance of the home assignment. The only conclusion is apparent: everything depends on the person and his study environment .

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