By Charlotte Lew
People listen to music 24/7. No matter if it’s from the radio or our own playlists, music fills up the emptiness in our lives. Many students even listen to music when they are studying. The topic of listening to music while studying has been an ongoing debate for a while. Some say music calms them down and lets them focus on their work, while others say that it distracts them.
Research has shown that music releases the chemical, dopamine, in our brains. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness, releases delightful emotion and lowers Cortisol levels. The lowering of Cortisol, a hormone responsible for stress and anxiety, leads students to study more efficiently as they may be better at solving problems when they are in a more positive mood. In addition, as music activates both the left and right brain, it can maximize learning and improve memory. Because music is calming and comforting, it can also lead to better sleep. Better sleep habits can lower stress and lead to better productivity. Many students study for long periods of time and late at night. Background music for long and late study sessions is helpful as it can boost the mood of the student and help them endure the study session.
However, several studies prove that students don’t absorb information well when listening to music. Tasks like reading and writing have been proven to be better without music, especially loud or ‘angry’ music. As that kind of music has a negative effect on comprehension and analysis, it makes students less efficient on tasks. Research does suggest that music helps with memorization, but many students find it hard to recall information when taking a test as it’s in a quiet environment. So, students who study in a quieter environment benefit more when recalling information while taking a test. Listening to music and studying does count as multitasking and as multitasking is proven to lower efficiency (even lowering IQ by ten points), listening to music may not be beneficial either.
Most of the time, listening to music while studying will be determined by a person’s own preference. However, from the experience from my peers and I, we must acknowledge that the type of music does matter. Instead of pop, rock and hip-hop, we recommend music without lyrics like Lofi or classical. A study done at the University of Phoenix also suggests that listening to music with lyrics is distracting while reading, writing, and studying in general. So, it's better to stick with songs with no lyrics. The Mozart effect isn’t a complete myth as in a study done in France found that students performed better on a quiz when they listened to classical music and a lecture simultaneously.
In conclusion, whether you find music distracting or relaxing is based on personal preference. If music hinders your learning and ability to retain information, then it’s better to not to play it. However, if it puts you in a better mood to study in, then play calming music in the background, without lyrics, to maximize learning efficiency. Similar to other learning processes, it’s different for everyone and depends on what works for that individual.
コメント