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IS IT GOOD TO LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE STUDYING?
Have you ever reached out in the middle of the class to grab your headphones so you can listen to some cool beats while you do your Humanities task of the day or even your Science physics homework… Although once you are jamming to the best part of the song, the teacher interrupts you and tells you to take off your headphones, since they are distracting and don't allow you to focus on your task? Well I have, and I have to tell you I always doubted if music had a positive affect or a negative affect on my studying rates. So here, according to my research, we will figure out if it does or not distract you like St. Francis says.
Well it really depends on the type of music you are listening to and what kind of student you are. Academic performance and apprehension can be affected by music both in a positive and negative manner, learn how to improve your study habits:
BENEFITS OF STUDYING WHILE LISTENING TO MUSIC
As the number of students bringing headphones and earbuds to their designated studying area, such as school, and libraries, it allows us to question if we are really benefiting from this habit. Known as the Mozart-effect, a term used to express that listening to music while studying could actually promote/enhance your intelligence.
These are the 3 main study tips/ ways music benefits you
Soothing, and calm music relax students, helping them fight against anxiety or stress while studying
Background music may improve focus on a particular task by stipulating motivation and improving your mood. During long study periods, music can work as an endurance boost.
In particular cases, pupils have figured out that music helps them memorize what they are working with. By setting a positive environment, which indirectly boosts memory formation
These are the 4 main drawbacks of listening to music while studying
Students who listen to music which include lyrics, while working on reading or writing tasks often find themselves more distracted, since it tends to be less efficient and come to absorb less information.
Agitated and loud music can often cause contrary effects on reading comprehension, also on your mood making it more difficult to concentrate
Lastly, students who use music to help them memorize information, often have to listen to music while performing the task or taking a test. In the test- taking environment, where attitudes like this aren’t allowed, these pupils find it harder to concentrate and recall information they previously studied.
MORE ABOUT THE MOZART EFFECT
The idea of listening to music makes you ‘smarter’, is a concept based on research that found that listening to complex classical music will improve your performance and test scores. The researcher argued that music has an ability to stimulate parts of the brain that play a role in mathematical ability. Although further research has debunked the theory, it doesn’t have anything to do with mathematical ability, although it just puts us in a better mood.
BLUR EFFECT
Research conducted in the 1990s - where kids listened to BritPop band Blur had a better performance in tests. As a matter of fact, researchers found that the Blur effect was more effective than the Mozart effect. This is because children enjoyed music like BlurPop more than classical music. Being in a better mood means that we try harder and stick to challenging tasks
SO THE REAL QUESTION IS… CAN I LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE STUDYING OR NOT?
Research suggests that it is ok to listen to music while you are studying, although you have some requirements
It is better if:
It puts you in a good mood
It’s not too loud
It’s not to fast
Isn’t too wordy
And if you aren’t such an introvert
My tip is to listen to LO-FI music. Mr. Rosenberg introduced me to this practice and it is really beneficial!!!
Check out these cool tunes:
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