Music is one of the few activities that stimulates the entire brain. It actually has surprising benefits for learning. It can enhance certain types of higher brain function such as reading and literacy skills, mathematical abilities, emotional intelligence, and reasoning.
Listening to music while studying or learning is only beneficial for people who aren’t distracted by their surroundings, so if you’re one of those people, well… you’re just stuck in the deafening silence of studying without music. Personally, I listen to music during homework like math, but not when I’m studying notes, say for for Anatomy and Physiology and Pathology, or when I have to read a story because those require comprehension of every little detail, whereas math is just numbers. The music just makes the busy work fly by and makes it more bearable.
Earlier, it was believed that listening to classical music, particularly Mozart, enhanced cognitive test scored (called the Mozart Effect), but recent studies show that listening to any personally enjoyable music has positive effects. I like listening to The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons and This Wild Life to name just a few.
Listening to music you enjoy helps you recall information. The only catch is that the music you listen to while studying should be strictly instrumental to be fully effective. If it's not, you're more likely to remember the words of the background song than the information you need to learn. So if you're not listening to classical music, maybe you could find the karaoke version of your favorite song.
Also, it's really helpful to listen to relaxing music because under heavy mental work, our blood pressure and pulse rises, which makes it hard to concentrate. Relaxing music improves the duration and intensity of concentration (again, if you're not easily distracted). ). A study that was performed on children aged ten to twelve years old showed that the ones exposed to calming music scored better on arithmetic and memory tasks. There’s even a list of the top ten most scientifically relaxing songs with the top three being “Weightless” by Marconi Union, “Electra” by Airstream, and “Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix)” by Dj Shah. Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, director of Research at Minlab International, who conducted the study of relaxing songs said, “In fact, ‘Weightless’ was so effective, many women became drowsy and I advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.” They’re definitely worth checking out (for studying purposes, not driving). They have no lyrics and they aren’t classical music.
So, next time you decide to study, which hopefully is soon, turn on some Mozart or Beethoven. Listen to Bach’s “Suite Solo for Cello No. 1” (it really is great) or maybe YouTube “Weightless” and see how well you retain the information. Oh, and even better, see how well you ace your next test.
