advantages and disadvantages of listening to music essay

6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Listening to Music While Studying

The music is one of the most inspiring and comprehensive arts. Since the beginning of history, man has had the drive to communicate his ideas and feelings through song and dance. And as for dancing, you will dance for joy if your assignment will write a service like Domyessay .

Nowadays, even employers from companies like BidForWriting , in order to do their work more efficiently, listen to music that helps them stay focused. Today there are hundreds of genres and millions of artists of all kinds. From popular and folk to classical, pop, rock, and jazz.

Regardless of your favorite, various research shows why you should listen while you study.

Here are the reasons why it benefits learning, but we also tell you how to listen in properly while studying and a few disadvantages.

1. It helps you memories better

When we listen to music, our brain releases a chemical called dopamine, also known as the “happiness hormone.” And what does it have to do with learning? Memories have been shown to always contain an emotional element, so when you study listening to music, knowledge is more likely to be grounded in your brain.

2. Strengthen your cognitive ability

Following in line with the previous point, recent research determined that people who learn to play a musical instrument have better results in variables such as vocabulary, critical reasoning ability, and fine motor skills. So you should also learn to play it and not just listen to it!

3. Stimulates concentration

It is known that many surgeons, when operating, listen to their favorite songs as a way to block any distraction. Various studies have shown that listening to calm and harmonious music while doing intellectual tasks that require a lot of concentration is a highly effective method.

What genre should you listen to?

Relaxing music for studying is the best. Styles like classical or background, chill out or movie soundtracks come into play here.

Better instrumental than with lyrics

Let’s not fool ourselves. If we put on a familiar song, the kind that continually plays on bars and on TV, we won’t be able to keep our attention on the sheets in front of us and humming will engulf the room sooner than later. Avoid such distractions and make sure your playlist is made up of instrumental themes, it’s the best music to study and focus on.

Listen to it to perform mechanical tasks

Relaxing music to study is a good companion to the most mechanical, repetitive, and monotonous memory tasks. But we must be aware that meaningful learning, the truly resulting from the understanding of the contents and subsequent appropriation of knowledge, is best done in a silent environment.

Play it if there is too much noise around

Linking the previous idea, before the impossibility of silence, relaxing music is better to study than noise. Our house or library is not always quiet places, so put on music and get a stable and unalterable environment.

Control the volume, you’re not partying – It should be at a medium-low volume. Forget about full volume.

Use long playlists – If the playlist is constantly stopped and you have to interrupt what you are doing to change to another one, don’t worry. Think about the time you usually study without break and make a list of this duration so that it ends when you go to take a break. The average is in 2 or 3 hours. Or just play some radio station, like ChilloutRadio , and let them choose for you appropriate music.

Disadvantages

4. multitasking.

Multitasking is a term that has its origin in the field of computing. By multitasking, we understand the process by which two or more tasks or processes are performed at the same time.

The term multitasking is applied in different aspects related to productivity and performance and, unfortunately, it is becoming a quality highly valued in the academic and business world.

But people with multitasking behavior lose concentration as the brain clearly conflicts. In this sense and in relation to the topic of this article, listening to music while studying is detrimental because the brain must be divided into two actions.

On the one hand, the brain works on aspects of the study, while on the other, it listens to songs. The effect is just the opposite of what people think. Listening while studying does not help us relax or concentrate, on the contrary, it increases our stress and decreases our attention.

5. Productivity

In relation to the first reason is that by doing two tasks simultaneously you lose time and productivity.

Many people find it that if it is silence around them, they are achieving much better results. But that is probably on the personal level, everyone has different preferences. The music is still noise and all noise that it causes is an alteration in the brain. For a long time, when doing an intellectual activity, it makes it extremely difficult for me to do any type of task related to work.

Today many of the people who listen to music do so through electronic devices such as players, mobile devices, tablets…

They store a huge amount of data on these devices. This music, which will be the one chosen to listen to while studying, becomes continuous decision-making. I explain. By having so much musical information on our device, we waste a remarkable amount of time selecting those songs that we like. What this selection process does is to continuously interrupt the pace of study and directly affects the concentration required by a task such as studying.

The problem of these devices is also linked to our tastes, because while we listen to music, the songs evoke some kind of feeling, memory, taste, aversion, etc.

All these blocks and interrupts the study again and makes the time we dedicate to study increase considerably. When talking about the expression of listening to music, you have to make a clear differentiation.

Conclusion:

Music has fundamental benefits for the brain . Recent research indicates that learning to play an instrument in childhood manages to prosper a person’s cognitive performance in each and every aspect. In addition to this, it has also been proven that it compensates for the cognitive loss of aging.

This is all because music produces neural connections that improve other aspects of communication.

Related Posts:

• 9 Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Stainless…
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Playing at a…
• Unlock the Potential of Social Listening for Maximum Impact
• Studying for the Sake Professional Certification ─…
• How Early Should You Start Studying for the GRE?
• Mathematics in Art and Music ─ The Harmony of…

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Revolutionizing the Classroom ─ How STEM Education Shapes Future Innovators

5 Advices For Online Students

What Is a Claim in an Essay? Unpacking the Core Element with Writing Tips

The Impact of Office Desk Placement on Your Workflow

Amy’s Kitchen Takes Home Freezie Award

From Chaos to Order ─ Organizing Your Business the Smart Way

How to Dress Your House to Sell: 10 Tips to Secure...

How to Maximize Your Digital Marketing ─ 5 Tips for Success...

Sander Tamm

Alice Waters MasterClass Review: The Art of Home Cooking

If you want to take Alice Waters’ MasterClass but you aren’t sure if it will meet your needs, this honest review will tell you everything you need to know.

Money EQ by Ken Honda: Can Money Bring Happiness?

I’ve tried out a course on Mindvalley by Japan’s most influential and recognizable teacher on how to relate to money – a topic most of us tend to avoid. Read on for my honest assessment of whether it delivers on its promises and can enhance your life and well-being.

Cloud Developer: Review of Coursera’s Preparing for Google Cloud Certification

As businesses shift to the cloud, is the “Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Developer Professional Certificate” the golden ticket for those wanting to join the journey?

• Media and Public Relations Services

Pros & Cons Of Listening To Music While Writing An Essay

The effect of background music on thought processes is somehow more complicated than we previously thought. Pros and cons of music in essay writing in researches are not about “melodies in general” or “writing in general”, but works of particular styles that help (or prevent) solving certain tasks.

• Pros of writing with music

Many students and schoolchildren listen to melodies while studying even in class. There is nothing wrong with this because all the people are different and background music can really help someone concentrate, especially if he does a monotonous job. While looking for free essays or writing your paper assignment, students may experience stress and calm melodies can reduce it or even remove it. Also, favorite songs in the background can improve the student’s mood and concentration. Moreover, sometimes students can associate a certain moment of study with a song and memorize the necessary material through melodies.

• Cons of listening to music while studying

Unfortunately, despite all the positive aspects, scientists have proved that music is more distracting than helps in learning. Students who listen to songs while doing reading or writing assignments tend to be less effective and walk away, absorbing less information. Loud or too fast melodies can interfere with your concentration during the performance of tasks. Above we mentioned a trick when a material is remembered when associated with a song. The disadvantage of this method is that in the exam you are unlikely to be given the opportunity to listen to music in order to remember something.

• MYTH. Music helps you concentrate on work

Truth. Recent studies have shown that music can have a beneficial effect on creativity. In particular, Simone M. Ritter and Sam Ferguson of the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands have shown in their recent work that people who perform creative tasks while listening to classical music are more productive than their counterparts who work in silence.

At the same time, several decades have been spent researching how sound affects work productivity. A review of laboratory research on this topic shows that there is a phenomenon called “inappropriate sound effect”. Basically, this effect means that the performance gets worse when the task is performed in the presence of background sound. This effect is more pronounced when not only instrumental music but also human language sounds in the background.

Scientists note that this effect is manifested when performing complex tasks that require maximum concentration. In addition, the nature of the background sounds matters. If they do not meet the preferences of the person, the productivity drops significantly.

• Can music motivate you to write?

Music can definitely influence the mood by exacerbating the bad and maintaining the good, it can improve or worsen the mood and it all depends on certain situations. During studies, sometimes it is too lazy to do something. Especially with regard to paperwork. But listening to your favorite songs can cheer you up and motivate you to work, do research work and write an essay. This is true because a person’s mood can depend on weather and melodies. Concentrating on working on your essay, you don’t have to listen to melodies, but it can definitely motivate you to find the materials you need to work and at least read them. Then it all depends on how you prefer to continue to work. Perhaps you are from the tech who writes scientific papers to music, or maybe the one who works only in silence. The main thing is that melodies can push you to the beginning of work!

Conclusion:

Playing music in the background helps or hinders performance, depending on the person’s task and the type of melodies. Only understanding these relationships will help people increase their level of productivity. If the task requires a creative approach, listening to your favorite melodies can improve performance. If the job requires a lot of information, it’s better to work with or without music at all, or with background music.

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

據 omdia 預測，到 2028 年全球音樂銷售額將達到 530 億美元，而中國排名第一, omdia forecasts global music sales will reach $53 billion by 2028 with china ascending the rankings, the 35th golden melody awards ceremony, popular posts, person asks online for advice on how to deal with grief. this reply is incredible., 65,000 people in london wait for green day. to pass the time away, they sung this., patti smith on the biggest misconception about her, popular category.

• Music 19551
• Isolated Tracks 188
• 1-Minute Tips For PR 123
• Music Industry Most-Loved Albums 40

Listening to Music while Studying: Create Your Perfect Study Ambience

Table of contents.

Does listening to music help you study? 🎧

Many students swear by the power of music during their study sessions. Whether it’s libraries or coffee shops, you often see headphones all around as people are trying to drown out distractions or set a personal soundtrack to keep their motivation high.

Given this widespread practice, it’s worth looking into whether listening to music really does help you absorb and retain information better, if it simply makes the monotony of studying more bearable, or if it even could have adverse effects on your performance. 

Is it good to study with music – according to science? 

A Stanford study tested various types of classical music and found that it did help study performance, with peak brain activity being observed in the musical breaks – the transition between the musical movements. A co-author of the study theorized that the process of listening to music could be a way that the brain sharpens its ability to anticipate events and sustain attention. So, while it is not 100% understood, there are indications that music can support you in your study sessions. 

How can music help you focus? 

Possible positive influences that music may have on you while studying include: 

• Music alleviates stress and anxiety 
• Music can increase mood, energy, and motivation 
• Can improve brain function (as per the Stanford study) 
• Music is emotional which may help memory by making you more engaged 
• Music can help you focus by blocking out distracting outside noises
• Music fills silence that some people find hard to bear, for example if they are affected by tinnitus 

Does classical music help you study better than other genres? 

The Stanford study mentioned above and most other studies were done with classical music and did not compare the outcomes to other genres. A common assumption is that music with lyrics is more distracting than instrumental music. 

However, in practice, not everyone listens to classical music and many people still say that listening to their favorite modern tunes helps them while studying. 

One study compared a large set of Spotify playlists and surprisingly found that the playlists that people use for studying have a lot of overlap with playlists used for sleeping. However, that does not necessarily mean that it is all soft, slow, and instrumental, as one might expect. The playlists they found were very varied. 

A takeaway here could be to not let yourself be influenced by one or another study claiming to have found the best study music – experiment for yourself what type of music gets you in your best state of mind for learning. With how different tastes in music are, what works best for you may not work for the next student. 

Disadvantages of listening to music while studying

Before you study with music, consider the potential disadvantages that can affect the efficiency and effectiveness of learning. Make sure to look out for those and adjust your study strategy if you notice any of them are affecting you or getting worse with background music. Here are some of the main drawbacks:

You may get distracted

Music, especially those with lyrics or complex melodies, can compete for the cognitive resources that you would need for learning. This can be particularly disruptive during tasks that require significant concentration, like solving complex problems or understanding calculations. The cognitive distraction can also slow you down, reducing your efficiency. 

It does not work for everyone

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning efficiency. Some may find music immensely helpful, while others find it overwhelmingly distracting. This makes it difficult to establish a general recommendation for studying with music. 

You may get overstimulated 

The constant additional stimulation of background music can lead to feelings of anxiety or overwhelm in some people. If this is you, especially if you are sensitive to sensory overload, you won’t benefit from any of the positive effects music could have for other’s studying.

It may interfere with your memory 

It is theorized that there’s a possibility that the conflicting information your brain receives in parallel from your learning material and the background music can hinder the memory processes involved in learning. 

You may get too used to it 

If you consistently study with music, there’s a risk that you become so habituated to having background noise that you feel uncomfortable in environments where music is not allowed, for example an exam. It may even make it harder for you to recall your knowledge and perform under a circumstance that is too different from your usual environment. 

You can counteract this disadvantage by not using music or noise all the time, and by simulating exam environments as realistically as possible when preparing for tests. 

If not music – what type of noise is best for studying? 

Another common background noise for studying is different types of generated broadband sound aiming to improve focus while being less distracting than music. Examples are white noise, brown noise, or pink noise (broadband sounds that are perceived as “deeper” than white noise).

Is white noise good for studying?

Through its uniform nature without much variability, white noise has much less potential to be distracting than music. But does white noise help you study in other ways, as well? 

Research has suggested that white noise may stimulate the brain regions responsible for dopamine secretion and attention, which may make you more focused on studying. This study found that listening to white noise had a positive effect on vocabulary learning. Another study was inconclusive and suggested there may not be any direct proven effects of white noise on cognitive performance. 

How to find what noise helps you focus

Try different styles: 

• Compare how you feel with different kinds of noise: white, pink, brown, etc
• Experiment with nature sounds: Many people perceive waves, rain, wind, bird song, or fire crackling as very relaxing and not distracting
• Binaural beats can be an in-between solution between musical pieces and background noise if you’re looking for background ambience specifically designed to evoke certain brainwave states
• Try ambient sound: Ambient sound is the background noise in any environment. By listening to the sounds that remind you of a specific environment, you can evoke that mindset or feeling you associate with that environment. Some students enjoy a library soundscape with shuffling papers and writing sounds for studying, while others work best with the sounds of a busy cafe in the background, or prefer a farm or forest ambience. 

Adjust the volume: 

Make sure the background noise is loud enough to block out distracting sounds, but not so loud that it becomes distracting. Start at a low volume and adjust as needed. 

Monitor how you feel as well as your results: 

The best background noise makes you more productive and makes you feel better. Pay attention to which sounds make you feel especially stressed, drained, make you experience scattered thoughts, or suddenly make it easier to get stuff done. 

Study aesthetics and lofi study ambience 

Lo-fi music combined with playful, peaceful artwork is a notable trend in how people create enjoyable and helpful study experiences for themselves. Lo-fi music is characterized by a calm, soothing atmosphere with various genre influences. The related aesthetic applied to artwork around playlists and online study rooms often is associated with nostalgic or vintage visuals. 

In combination, this creates a popular vibe that lots of students perceive as helpful for improving their productivity, as well as a way of identifying with their often stressful academic life in a more positive way. You can find lots of playlists and platforms following this theme to try. 

How to find your perfect study background noise: resources 

Youtube is a go-to resource for study music and playlists, but make sure you find ones without ad breaks. Ads are a sure way to get very distracted frequently, especially since they are often much louder than the rest of the videos’ content.

This author tried to find the best study music that aligns with the findings of the Stanford study referred to above. They used cross-fading on Spotify and experimented with various pre-compiled study playlists. Their favorite turned out to be the Solace Album Mix by Monstercat. If you’re using Spotify, we recommend consciously experimenting with different genres and types of playlists to find not only something you enjoy, but what really helps you focus. 

Other apps and websites 

• Study Music – Memory Booster app: 4.7 stars from 90.1k reviews
• mynoise.net : curated soundscapes that can be interactively combined and generated 
• https://lifeat.io/ : online study platform with ambience sounds, calming visuals, and integrated study-organizing features 

Conclusion 

It’s clear that the effectiveness of using music or noises to improve learning varies widely. There is no one-size-fits-all, as is true for most other study hacks and techniques. It stays important that you inform yourself of the options, experiment, and then consistently stick with what you found out works well for you. The earlier on in your studies you find your strategies, the easier your path will be – but it is also never too late to get into new productive habits.

The best way to study is interactive

• MCAT practice questions
• USMLE practice questions
• NCLEX practice questions

Further Reading

SMART Goals for Students [+ Template & How-to PDF]

Make the Most of Your Study Time with Learning Modalities (Learning How to Learn)

Finding Fun Ways to Study in Med School

• Data Privacy
• Terms and Conditions
• Legal Information

USMLE™ is a joint program of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB®) and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME®). MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN®, and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc (NCSBN®). None of the trademark holders are endorsed by nor affiliated with Lecturio.

The best way to study is interactive.

Use Lecturio’s comprehensive Qbanks to get exam-ready.

User Reviews

• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Sweepstakes
• Guided Meditations
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2024 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

How Listening to Music Can Have Psychological Benefits

Research-backed reasons why listening to music can feel so good

Listening to music can be entertaining, and some research suggests that it might even make you healthier. Music can be a source of pleasure and contentment, but there are many other psychological benefits as well. Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and help people manage pain better.

The notion that music can influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors probably does not come as much of a surprise. If you've ever felt pumped up while listening to your favorite fast-paced rock anthem or been moved to tears by a tender acoustic performance, then you easily understand the power of music to impact moods and even inspire action.

The psychological effects of music can be powerful and wide-ranging. Music therapy is an intervention sometimes used to promote emotional health, help patients cope with stress, and boost psychological well-being. Some research even suggests that your taste in music can provide insight into different aspects of your personality .

At a Glance

Listening to music isn't just enjoyable—it's good for you, too! Research has found that it can help your brain process information more efficiently, increase your ability to cope with stress, and even help jog your memory. Keep reading to learn more about the many different benefits of listening to music, including a few that may surprise you.

Music Can Improve Cognitive Performance

Eternity in an Instant / Getty Images

Research suggests that background music, or music that is played while the listener is primarily focused on another activity, can improve performance on cognitive tasks in older adults. One study found that playing more upbeat music led to improvements in processing speed, while both upbeat and downbeat music led to benefits in memory.

So the next time you are working on a task, consider turning on a little music in the background if you are looking for a boost in your mental performance. Consider choosing instrumental tracks rather than those with complex lyrics, which might end up being more distracting.

Music Can Reduce Stress

It has long been suggested that music can help reduce or manage stress. Consider the trend centered on meditative music created to soothe the mind and inducing relaxation.

Fortunately, this is one trend supported by research. Listening to music can be an effective way to cope with stress.

Research has found that listening to music has an impact on the human stress response , particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system .

People who listen to music tend to recover more quickly following a stressor. Evidence also shows that high-frequency music leads to the greatest stress relief, lowering cortisol and increasing oxytocin levels.

Music Can Help You Eat Less

One of the most surprising psychological benefits of music is that it might be a helpful weight-loss tool. If you are trying to lose weight, listening to mellow music and dimming the lights might help you achieve your goals .

One study found that listening to music at its original tempo was associated with normal eating pace. Speeding up or slowing down the tempo resulted in higher food intake.

Other research suggests that when people are distracted by music or if the music contributes to increased arousal, they may disregard feelings of fullness and overeat.

The emotions people feel when listening to music can also affect eating behaviors. In one study, people were more likely to report that beer was sweeter, better tasting, and more enjoyable when they were listening to music associated with positive feelings.

However, it's important to remember that the findings on the relationship between food and music are mixed. More research is needed, but you might put this into practice by choosing background music that is at a middle-range tempo and avoiding tunes that are fast-paced and upbeat in order to minimize overeating.

Music Can Improve Your Memory

Many students enjoy listening to music while studying, but is that a great idea? Some feel like listening to their favorite music as they study improves memory , while others contend that it simply serves as a pleasant distraction.

It may help, but it also depends upon various factors, including the type of music, the listener's enjoyment of that music, and even how musically well-trained the listener may be.

In one study, musically naive students learned better when listening to positive music, possibly because these songs elicited more positive emotions without interfering with memory formation.

However, musically trained students tended to perform better on learning tests when they listened to neutral music, possibly because this type of music was less distracting and easier to ignore.

If you find yourself distracted by music, you may be better off learning in silence or with neutral tracks playing in the background.

Research on the effects of music on learning is mixed. While students often report that they find it helpful, study results often suggest that it can be distracting, particularly music with lyrics. However, listening to instrumental background music may have some benefits.

One study found that participants learning a new language showed improvement in their knowledge and abilities when they practiced singing new words and phrases versus just regular speaking or rhythmic speaking.

Music Can Help Manage Pain

Research has shown that music can be very helpful in the management of pain. One study of fibromyalgia patients found that those who listened to music for just one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain compared to a control condition.

In the study, patients were passively exposed to pleasant, relaxing music of their own choice as well as a control auditory condition. They then performed a timed motor task to measure their functional mobility and rated their pain levels. 

The results found that listening to music before the task helped reduce pain and increased mobility.

A 2015 review of research on the effects of music on pain management found that patients who listened to music before, during, or even after surgery experienced less pain and anxiety than those who did not listen to music.  

While listening to music at any point in time was effective, the researchers noted that listening to music pre-surgery resulted in better outcomes. The review looked at data from more than 7,000 patients and found that music listeners also required less medication to manage their pain.

There was also a slightly greater, though not statistically significant, improvement in pain management results when patients were allowed to select their own music.

Music May Help You Sleep Better

Insomnia is a serious problem that affects people of all age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, research has demonstrated that listening to relaxing music can be a safe, effective, and affordable remedy.​

One review of the research found that music had a beneficial impact on sleep quality. Some evidence suggests that music could also improve how quickly people fall asleep and increase sleep duration, but more research is needed.

Another study found that listening to relaxing music before a nap improves subjective and objective sleep quality measures. People reported feeling that they slept better, and listening to music was associated with increased slow-wave sleep (aka deep sleep ).

Music Can Improve Motivation

There is a good reason why you find it easier to exercise while you listen to music. Researchers have found that listening to fast-paced music motivates people to work out harder.

One study found that people exercise significantly longer when listening to music than without. Another study found that listening to high tempo music during high-intensity exercise can improve performance without causing people to feel like they are exerting themselves harder. In other words, while you might be exercising harder, it doesn't feel harder when you are listening to music.

So if you are trying to stick to a workout routine, consider loading up a playlist filled with fast-paced tunes that will help boost your motivation and enjoyment of your exercise regimen.

Music Can Improve Mood

Another of the science-backed benefits of listening to music is that it just might make you happier. Research suggests that listening to music can help boost your happiness, mood, and subjective well-being in several ways:

• It helps enhance social connections, particularly during shared musical experiences like concerts
• It helps support better cognitive health in older adults
• Playing an instrument can improve cognition and well-being
• Combining music with dance and movement can help improve mood and well-being
• Music can help marginalized people feel more connected and empowered and increase overall well-being and self-esteem

Researchers suggest that listening to music can be a highly pleasurable experience that increases positive emotions and promotes the release of dopamine , a neurotransmitter tied to pleasurable feelings.

Music May Reduce Symptoms of Depression

Researchers have also found that music therapy can be a safe and effective treatment for a variety of disorders, including depression .

One study found that music therapy was a safe, low-risk way to reduce depression and anxiety in patients suffering from neurological conditions such as dementia, stroke, and Parkinson's disease.

While music can certainly have an impact on mood, the type of music is also important. Classical and meditation music offer the greatest mood-boosting benefits, while heavy metal and techno music are ineffective and even detrimental.

Music Can Improve Endurance and Performance

Another important psychological benefit of music lies in its ability to boost performance. While people have a preferred step frequency when walking and running, scientists have discovered that the addition of a strong, rhythmic beat, such as fast-paced musical track, could inspire people to pick up the pace.  

Runners are not only able to run faster while listening to music; they also feel more motivated to stick with it and display greater endurance. The ideal tempo for workout music is somewhere between 125 and 140 beats per minute.

While research has found that synchronizing body movements to music can lead to better performance and increased stamina, the effect tends to be the most pronounced in cases of low to moderate intensity exercise. In other words, the average person is more likely to reap the rewards of listening to music more than a professional athlete might.

So why does music boost workout performance? Listening to music while working out lowers a person's perception of exertion. You're working harder, but it doesn't seem like you're putting forth more effort.

Because your attention is diverted by the music, you are less likely to notice the obvious signs of exertion such as increased respiration, sweating, and muscle soreness.

Listening to music can inspire and entertain, but it also has powerful psychological effects that can improve your health and well-being. Instead of thinking of music as pure entertainment, consider some of the major mental benefits of incorporating music into your everyday life. You might find that you feel more motivated , happier, and relaxed as a result.

Gold BP, Frank MJ, Bogert B, Brattico E. Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener . Front Psychol . 2013;4:541. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00541

Lata F, Kourtesis I. Listening to music as a stress management tool .  Eur Psychiatry . 2021;64(Suppl 1):S609. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.1621

Sato N, Miyamoto M, Santa R, Homma C, Shibuya K. The effect of background music tempo on eating speed and food intake volume within in healthy women .  Nutr Health . doi:10.1177/02601060231158234

Pereira LJ, van der Bilt A. The influence of oral processing, food perception and social aspects on food consumption: a review .  J Oral Rehabil . 2016;43(8):630-648. doi:10.1111/joor.12395

Reinoso-Carvalho F, Dakduk S, Wagemans J, Spence C. Not just another pint! The role of emotion induced by music on the consumer's tasting experience .  Multisens Res . 2019;32(4-5):367-400. doi:10.1163/22134808-20191374

Cui T, Xi J, Tang C, Song J, He J, Brytek-Matera A. The relationship between music and food intake: A systematic review and meta-analysis .  Nutrients . 2021;13(8):2571. doi:10.3390/nu13082571

Gold BP, Frank MJ, Bogert B, Brattico E. Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener .  Front Psychol . 2013;4:541. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00541

Souza AS, Leal Barbosa LC. Should we turn off the music? Music with lyrics interferes with cognitive tasks .  J Cogn . 2023;6(1):24. doi:10.5334/joc.273

Ludke KM, Ferreira F, Overy K. Singing can facilitate foreign language learning . Mem Cognit. 2014;42(1):41-52. doi:10.3758/s13421-013-0342-5

Garza-Villarreal EA, Wilson AD, Vase L, et al. Music reduces pain and increases functional mobility in fibromyalgia .  Front Psychol . 2014;5:90. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00090

Hole J, Hirsch M, Ball E, Meads C. Music as an aid for postoperative recovery in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis . Lancet . 2015;386(10004):1659-71. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60169-6

Jespersen KV, Pando-Naude V, Koenig J, Jennum P, Vuust P. Listening to music for insomnia in adults .  Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2022;8(8):CD010459. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010459.pub3

Cordi MJ, Ackermann S, Rasch B. Effects of relaxing music on healthy sleep .  Sci Rep . 2019;9(1):9079. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45608-y

Thakare AE, Mehrotra R, Singh A. Effect of music tempo on exercise performance and heart rate among young adults .  Int J Physiol Pathophysiol Pharmacol . 2017;9(2):35-39.

Maddigan ME, Sullivan KM, Halperin I, Basset FA, Behm DG. High tempo music prolongs high intensity exercise .  PeerJ . 2019;6:e6164. doi:10.7717/peerj.6164

Dingle GA, Sharman LS, Bauer Z, et al. How do music activities affect health and well-being? A scoping review of studies examining psychosocial mechanisms .  Front Psychol . 2021;12:713818. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713818

Croom AM. Music, neuroscience, and the psychology of well-being: A précis .  Front Psychol . 2012;2:393. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00393

Raglio A, Attardo L, Gontero G, Rollino S, Groppo E, Granieri E. Effects of music and music therapy on mood in neurological patients . World J Psychiatry. 2015;5(1):68-78. doi:10.5498/wjp.v5.i1.68

Snyder KL, Snaterse M, Donelan JM. Running perturbations reveal general strategies for step frequency selection . J Appl Physiol. 2012;112(8):1239-47. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01156.2011

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Get started for free
• Watch a Glean demo

Does music make you study better?

The evidence for and against listening to music while learning.

Does music make you study better? The answer is...it depends! Current research shows both advantages and disadvantages to listening to music while you study. 

Certain factors, such as the type of music you listen to, can influence whether it will be a beneficial or disruptive force for learning. There is also an element of personality and preferences at play. 

Have a read through our list of pros and cons to decide whether music will improve your next study session...

The advantages of listening to music while studying

It reduces stress and boosts mood.

A good mood and low stress levels set the scene for effective learning, so the brighter and less stressed you feel going into a study session, the better. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest that music has mood-boosting, stress-lowering properties. 

One study had people carry out a psychological stress test while listening to relaxing music. The results found that the autonomic nervous system, as well as the endocrine and psychological stress response, were all impacted favorably by those who listened to relaxing music. 

It can improve focus 

A study from the Stanford University School of Medicine found that classical music helps your brain to not only learn new material more easily, but also interpret it too. The same study found that music can train you to pay closer attention to events and get better at predicting outcomes. And that can only be a good thing when it comes to learning. 

It's motivating 

Let's not beat around the bush, studying can be a slog. The good news is, music might be able to help motivate you. Research has shown music activates the same reward centers in your brain as other activities you take pleasure in performing. So even if you can't listen to music while you study, you could use music as a motivation boost during your study breaks. Alternatively, listen to your favorite tunes while you walk to the library to get yourself motivated. 

It may help your memory  

There is some research to suggest listening to music can help you with learning new information. One study found older adults were better at memory and processing tasks while listening to classical music. Time for some Beethoven? 

The disadvantages of listening to music while studying

It can negatively impact working memory  .

If you have a hard time taking on board new information and managing various new materials, you might want to skip listening to your favorite beats while you study. Research has found that listening to music can reduce the capacity of your working memory. Working memory is a cognitive system that has a limited capacity which helps you to hold and process new information, like a phone number, address or a list of groceries. 

It can lower reading ability  

If you've got a lot of material to read as part of your study session, it might be wise to take out the headphones. Research has found that some music, particularly music that is both fast and loud, can lower your reading comprehension. The same study found that slow or soft classical music didn't impact reading comprehension, so if you've got a textbook to get through try swapping breakcore for Mozart.

Tips for studying with music 

Keen to continue studying while listening to music? Follow these best practice guidelines to ensure the quality of your study session isn’t negatively affected: 

• Choose slow, instrumental music 
• Avoid complicated, experimental music and music with lyrics 
• Keep the volume down 
• Choose music you feel neutral towards 
• Avoid listening to music services with adverts 

In conclusion…

The question 'does music make you study better?' has no straightforward answer. Research outlines some clear benefits; it lowers stress and boosts mood, both of which can impact the efficacy of a study session. 

Music can also improve focus, especially if it's classical. Most people also find music inherently motivating, so it can be a useful tool for getting yourself into a positive state before your study, or as a pick-me-up during study breaks. Research has also found that listening to certain music can improve your memory. 

But it's not all good news. Music can have a negative impact on your working memory, particularly if you already have a working memory with lower capacity. Reading ability can also be negatively affected by listening to music. 

If you do want to continue listening to music while you study, go for slow instrumental music without lyrics and avoid anything experimental with unexpected beats or adverts. You should also keep the volume at a reasonable level and avoid music that you have strong emotions about. 

The personal study tool that improves grades

Good notes are critical to successful study sessions. 

If you want a study tool that makes great note taking come naturally, check out Glean . 

Glean captures everything from class, including audio, text notes, slides, tasks and more, helping you create an all-in-one workspace for your study sessions.

And it’s helped over 70% of students improve their grades in just one semester. Worth a free trial ? 

Share this blog

Time for a simpler, smarter note taking accommodation?

More from Better Learning

How to apply for the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA)

In the UK, you can have access to a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA), which can make a huge difference in getting ahead with your studies and academic success. Here, we share all the details to consider for a successful application.

Accessing accommodations: how to get an ADHD diagnosis in the USA

A diagnosis of ADHD can provide an explanation and context for years of struggles navigating in a world not designed for neurodivergents. Here we explore the various routes to accessing an ADHD diagnosis in the USA.

Studying with ADHD: strategies for success

Staying focused while studying is a challenge for everyone, but it’s especially hard for those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The Importance of Music in Education: Pros and Cons for Students

By skope  •  january 14, 2019.

What is the importance of music in education? Can music help you in your studies? Check out our article and find out all the pros and cons of incorporating music into the learning process!

H1: Music in Education: Ins and Outs

Music is an inseparable part of our life. It accompanies us from childhood to old age, reflecting our thoughts or feelings and evoking particular emotions. Therefore, it is not surprising that quite a few people want to take the path of music education. Lots of students are interested in studying music and master some kind of musical instrument. However, in the 21st century, when everything around you is becoming digital and robotized, you can’t help asking yourself the question of “what is the importance of music in education?”

There are both pros and cons to incorporating music into the classroom activities syllabus. Some believe it is good, while others argue otherwise. So, are there only inspiring and amazing prospects, or should you be ready to face various challenges as well? Stay tuned if you want to find it out!

H2: Education and Music: Pros & Cons

Some students listen to music to immerse themselves in studies and focus on a specific assignment without letting their thoughts get tangled, while others do so to make their learning process less monotonous. In most cases, music helps us keep our spirits up; there is even a theory that students become smarter just by listening to, for example, Mozart!

However, it is possible as well to claim that the music can distract you from your studies. You may not even notice it but instead of focusing on your homework assignment you start tapping the rhythm on the table and humming the lyrics. Music can also easily distract us from describing our arguments and ideas in our essay. However, many students can listen to music and do their homework simultaneously thanks to cooperating with essay paper writing services , which is quite a beneficial opportunity.

H2: Music and Early Childhood

The importance of music education in early childhood can’t be overstated. The first melody children hear is a lullaby which can soothe them and make them feel comforted and loved. But apart from the emotional side, music can also help children:

Stay more engaged in the studying process.

Develop their memory by helping them learn different melodies and songs by heart.

Perceive the process of achieving a goal in a step-by-step manner (e.g., by learning to play a certain instrument).

Learn the importance of achieving the best results.

Improve their creative thinking and spatial intelligence

As you can see, despite being considered something not very important, music can influence the learning process quite substantially and should, therefore, be treated with due respect

H2: Music Education: Relevant or Old-Fashioned?

Today, music is turning into something digital, and we can have access to music via audio files (MP3) and online digital media (various players). Sometimes, this particular aspect makes you think about the college music education importance. But music, especially “live” music, is the most important way of transmitting cultural heritage. That is why music education should be protected and even encouraged by all means possible. The live music we hear at concerts can cause us to experience more emotions than the records we listen to in our headphones. By incorporating music into our studies, we can promote the culture of our country and even improve our intercultural communication skills. Music education also lets us into the secrets of how something great and immortal is created!

If you can’t imagine your life without music, consider pursuing a music major and start discovering new horizons now!

MISKIMON BROTHERS Release “SPACE LADY IN A PICKUP TRUCK”

@skopemag news – friday – august 9, 2024 @ 12 pm est

DJ / ARTIST ARKETEK CLIMBING THE TECHNO & HOUSE MUSIC SCENE ONE BEAT AT TIME

Pat Donnelly’s “Angels” Touches on Universal Themes of Loss

World Premiere: Lacy J. Dalton’s New Track “Love Yourself” on Skope Magazine

@skopemag news – friday – august 9, 2024 @ 10 am est

• MARKETPLACE
• PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright © 2024 Skope Entertainment Inc . All Rights Reserved.

• International students face mental health challenges in search of community
• D Magazine’s Zac Crain climbs the journalism ladder
• Dallas homeless recovery center, The Bridge, is a home
• I decided to learn the guitar, but I walked away learning more about life
• How a Volvo XC60 became Dallas’ most unlikely new gallery
• Memorial day storms damage Dallas
• Meet Mama T, the heart of SMU's Umphrey Lee Dining Hall
• Beyond the Buzz: Unveiling Dallas' best-kept culinary secrets located on Maple Avenue
• SMU professor to return to campus after being trapped in Gaza for 12 years
• SMU student film highlights the Chinese-American experience

The Daily Campus

View this profile on Instagram The Daily Campus (@ smudailycampus ) • Instagram photos and videos

• Sponsored Content

The Pros and Cons of Listening to Music While Studying

Listening to music while studying is so commonplace because students of the digital generation have been raised in perpetual audio-visual stimulation. Many millennials feel very uncomfortable in silence simply because they are so accustomed to being near a screen or near digital audio. If you are in this position, then studying without some sort of audio in the background can feel very uncomfortable.

There are pros and cons of listening to music while studying. Keep reading to learn about them!

Pro – It Moderates Depression

Many people know what it feels like to burn out. It is where you extend a great amount of effort over a period of time to the point where you are unable to continue. To quote Gustave Flaubert, “every word was like tearing the flesh from my bones.”

Over time, too many burnouts create a physical response . For those looking to research this response, look up cortisol secretions in depressed adult. In short, your body creates stress hormones when dealing with certain studying in the same way it creates stress hormones when you see a spider crawling up your bedsheets.

Burning out while studying is what teaches your body to release these stress hormones. However, the introduction of music breaks up this cycle. The occasional invigorating song, or even the absence of that negative voice inside you, is enough to break the stress-hormone cycle.

This means music during studying can go partway toward moderating levels of depression during study time.

Con – Listening to Music While Studying Will Lower Your Productivity

Movement within your field of vision, audio, physical stimulus, and smells will all lower your productivity. Listening to music can lower your productivity by a minimum of 10%. Intensive studies trying to prove that classical music helps people study have been repeatedly debunked.

Listening to music with words in is the worst thing you can do because your mind is forced to dedicate a portion of your mind to interpret the song. That is partly why you may find it easier to concentrate if you already know the song off by heart. Music with words “will” dramatically affect your reading comprehension.

That is why music with words in it is only suitable for repetitive tasks such as working out.

Music without words, such as classical, drum & bass, jogging music, etc., removes your mind’s need to interpret words, which means your productivity suffers less, but it will still suffer by at least 10%.

There is the argument that studying and listening to music helps a person study for longer. For example, one may say, “Yeah, my productivity is reduced by 15%, but music allows me to study for 3 hours longer than I otherwise would.” Sadly, this is not the case. At first, while the notion of music and study is new, you may be able to study for longer, but after a while, you settle into a routine where your study hours normalize.

Pro – Music Can Help You Study While Tired

Obviously, nobody is endorsing studying while tired. We all know about all-nighters to finish almost-due essays, but these should be rare exceptions and not the norm. The deleterious effect that too little sleep has on people is dangerous because it is so insidious; we often have no idea just how badly our sleep deprivation hurts us because we feel fine at the time.

Nevertheless, music, especially with a repeating beat like electronic music, concentration music, house music, and drum & bass, will help you study while you are tired. Part of the reason is that it is a form of stimulation. The other reason is that it marks an audible passage of time, which helps stop you from grinding to a halt without noticing.

Does listening to music help studying? Do people grind to a halt without noticing? Think about it, how many times have you been studying and suddenly realized you had spent the last 20 minutes staring at a wall or daydreaming without noticing?

Also, if you are taking a break and you are tired, try to use wireless headphones for TV watching. It is no fun getting up to go to the toilet and being pulled back by your headphones like a wild rabbit caught by a snare.

Pro & Con – Music Affects Your Productive Mood

There is an old TV show from the UK called “Rising Damp.” The primary actor is able to chirp off hundreds of lines of dialogue at an almost rapper-style speed while maintaining perfect clarity. Students at Keele university subjected people to three back-to-back episodes and discovered that not only did the subject start talking faster, but they would also read faster after watching the show.

Our deepest and most primitive instincts tell us to copy what we are exposed to. As an infant, this behavior helped us learn and as we grow it helps us integrate into society. This natural instinct works so well that even the speed at which we speak, read and study can be affected by something as simple as a TV show.

Run tests on yourself using concentration music (or jogging music or workout music) with no words, and with different tempo beats. YouTube videos often use BPM scores. Try studying with music at 128 BMP and then at 160BMP. As long as the music doesn’t have words, you will notice a difference in your study speed when the music is faster.

The reason this is also a con (a downside) is that the opposite is also true. If you listen to wordless chill-out music, it will slow your rate of study considerably. Supermarkets use slow and wistful music so that shoppers move more slowly and spend longer in the store. Slow music has the potential to severely limit your study progress.

Some Evils Are Necessary

In a perfect world, nobody would need to use music while studying. Everybody would get enough sleep, everybody would settle into a sustainable study routine, everybody would get their essays done on time, and everybody would feel comfortably studying in complete silence.

The fact is that music is going to reduce your productivity, but in many cases it can be used as a bandage to stop you grinding to a halt, feeling uncomfortable in silence, and to help you maintain your studying momentum. Just be sure to listen to faster-paced music, and never listen to music that has words in it or you are making studying harder for yourself.

• music while studying

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

• Contact Our Editors
• Advertising
• Classifieds
• College 101
• Help My Rank
• Photo Books

11 Interesting Pros and Cons of Listening to Music

Some are good, some are terrible… There are so many interesting pros and cons of listening to music. Let’s begin with the pros and the most important one.

Releases feel-good chemicals

A research team gave participants in a study a chemical that blocks dopamine and found out that music wasn’t as enjoyable to listen to anymore. Surprise surprise, dopamine is hugely important for feeling good when listening to music.

Makes Us Relaxed and Boosts the Immune System

The second way is by lowering the amount of adrenaline and cortisol within our bodies. Two hormones responsible for creating stress. They’re beneficial in the short term, but cause problems if they’re present for long periods of time. Lowering those two hormones gives our immune system a boost and relaxes us as well.

Improves Sleep

Listening to music can decrease the time it takes to fall asleep, improve sleep quality and improve the efficiency of sleep. And interestingly, many of the “pros” on this list are all the reason it works.

The sleep-improving effects of music are thanks to a combination of factors such as hormone regulation, pain reduction, lowering of blood pressure, and slower breathing.

Babies also benefit from music when going to sleep with lullabies, and the phenomenon is ancient. The first lullaby on record is over 4000 years old.

Activates the Brain

Studies show that people who play an instrument enjoy a greater socio-emotional awareness, which is the ability to identify, understand and express emotions. As well as improved reading scores and more advanced hearing, making speech and music easier to hear.

Boosts Athletic Performance

It doesn’t only boost endurance though, tests have shown that music during exercise also helps us burn more calories!

Makes us Feel Less Pain

Music makes us feel less pain by lowering the body’s pain threshold. It was tested , with a “hand in icy water test” where participants put their hands in ice-cold water. Two groups were tested, one who listened to music and one who didn’t.

The group who listened to music lasted much longer with their hand in the ice water.

But it’s also been shown to decrease pain after surgeries as well as in many more situations. So to put it bluntly, music makes us feel less pain.

Can Reduce Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders, and a lot of people in the U.S. have it. The problem isn’t better on the other side of the pond either, Europeans are affected in similar proportions and it’s such a debilitating condition.

Research has shown that music can be effective at lowering anxiety and some studies show a dramatic improvement.

Can Lower Pressure

It’s been proven by many scientific studies, that music lowers blood pressure . Some suggest that listening to classical music specifically would be optimal. However, there has been success with other genres of music as well. But it may be a good idea to skip the lyrics and listen to something that’s more relaxing if you want to lower your blood pressure.

Hinder Creativity and Focus

Most people think listening to music embraces creativity, and I do too.

But the truth is that listening to music can significantly reduce our ability to focus and solve problems in some situations. Think about it for a moment. If a song is playing in the background, and you know the lyrics, and there’s an urge to sing along.

It draws attention away from the problem (if there is one) right in front of you. This is because music disrupts our verbal memory, and makes certain tasks hard to complete.

Hearing Loss

Over 20 million Americans suffer from tinnitus. It’s what’s known as hearing sound when there isn’t any, such as a constant beeping and noises. It legitimately drives people crazy, and there’s no perfect cure for it.

Can Be Stressful

When we don’t like the music that’s being played, it becomes noise instead. Such as when your neighbor is dancing to bass-boosted techno on the other side of your apartment wall when you’re trying to sleep.

It’s the inescapable sounds that really get to us. And being exposed to loud noises can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. Even animals get stressed. Everything from horses being seemingly more stressed when they’re exposed to rock music, to birds laying fewer eggs.

1. Releases feel-good chemicals

2. makes us relaxed and boosts the immune system, 3. improves sleep, 4. activates the brain.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734071/#:~:text=Conclusion,endocrine%20and%20psychological%20stress%20response. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734071/ https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/music-science-brain-mood-focus/ https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.00081 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205081731.htm

5. Boosts Athletic Performance

6. makes us feel less pain, 7. can reduce anxiety, 8. can lower blood pressure, 9. hinders creativity and focus.

https://time.com/5626958/music-creative-thinking/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190227081542.htm

10. Hearing Loss

11. stress / noise, recommended.

Advantages and disadvantages of being a music lover? why do people enjoy listening to music?

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Writing9 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Answer the 'Advantages and Disadvantages' topic

IELTS advantages and disadvantages questions normally give you a statement and ask you to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of that statement.

Answer structure for the type of essay

• Introduction
• Body paragraph 1 – advantages
• Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages

Examples to start your body paragraph:

• The main advantage is...
• The disadvantage of this...
• The main benefit...
• Despite these advantages...
• One possible drawback...

Discover more tips in The Ultimate Guide to Get a Target Band Score of 7+ » — a book that's free for 🚀 Premium users.

• Check your IELTS essay »
• Find essays with the same topic
• View collections of IELTS Writing Samples
• Show IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Schools should focus on academic success and passing examinations. Skills such as cookery, dressmaking and woodwork should not be taught at school as it is better to learn these from family and friends. To that extent do you agree or disagree. You should write at least 250 words.

Essay the role of women in the workforce in colombia., shopping is now one of the most popular forms of leisure activity in many countries for young adults. why is this do you think this is a positive or a negative development, in some countries it is becoming increasingly common for people to follow vegetarian diets. do the advantages of this outweighs the disadvantages., when you received a device ordered online you discovered that it was damaged. write a letter to the company. in your letter: • explain what you ordered and the problem with it; • tell how important is this purchase to you; • ask for solutions of the problem. write at least 150 words. you do not need to write any addresses. begin your letter as follows: dear ....,.

7 Disadvantages of Music – Its Negative Impacts

Music is part of most of our daily routines. It accompanies us in good and bad times, lifting our spirits or inviting us to stop and reflect. However, music has its disadvantages, which is what we’re going to explore in this article.

Let’s start by saying that we love music. This whole website is dedicated to musicians. We think that music is extremely important and powerful, as it helps to gather people, create bonds, and live unforgettable times.

However, we should also be mindful of the potential drawbacks of it and how it might affect others!

1. Hearing Loss

2. music can be distracting, 3. music can trigger bad memories, 4. it’s very difficult to make money in the music industry, 5. some people just can’t stand music, 6. noise pollution, 7. making bad decisions.

If we listen to music at a high volume for long periods of time, or if we play loud instruments without protecting our ears, we will likely experience hearing loss issues and tinnitus (read our more detailed article on that here ). It can even lead to physical pain in extreme situations.

Your music player at maximum volume can actually be louder than going to a rock concert. The average rock concert can be well over 100 decibels. This is a whopping 16 times as loud as 70 dBs. Studies indicate that hearing damage can occur within minutes of exposure to this level of noise.

While new music seems to be louder and louder (we should all be aware of how the so-called loudness war can seriously damage our hearing), the human ear is still quite sensitive and vulnerable. It is not a good idea to go full volume all the time.

To avoid this huge disadvantage and only enjoy the best effects of music, take some precautions and avoid unhealthy levels of volume when listening to music.

Avoid listening to loud music with your earphones or headphones for a long time. Take some sensible breaks or keep the volume down. Genres like rock music, heavy metal music, and techno are especially dangerous as they are often listened to in high volumes.

If you’re a musician, often exposed to the sound of loudspeakers or playing loud instruments such as drums, consider wearing earplugs and/or compensating for your exposure to loudness by giving a rest to your ears through periods of silence.

Right music can be great for concentration if you listen to the right type of music (read our piece on that here )! But wrong music can be distracting and can make you lose focus.

A lot of young students do their homework or prepare for their exams while listening to their favorite hits. A lot of adults adopt this habit, too, during working hours. As a result, they may experience mild memory loss issues or just worse results than expected.

While some kinds of music, such as classical symphonies, instrumental music, or binaural beats, could improve your focus, listening to the radio or to a Spotify playlist filled with all your favorite music with lyrical songs could distract you from the task you are doing.

But a potential negative effect of music is that it can be distracting even when you’re driving or interacting with others. Distraction is one of the biggest cons of music while working or when you have to focus.

We live in a very unfocused world in which music doesn’t seem to be such a huge distraction compared to smartphones, social media, and other stimuli we are exposed to on a daily basis. However, it can indeed make you lose your focus.

To avoid this disadvantage, claim some periods of silence for yourself, especially whenever you are engaging in a difficult or demanding task. If you don’t like silence, choose your music sensibly, opting for classical and instrumental pieces. For example, you can search for playlists for music while studying to increase your focus.

As we highlighted in the introduction, music is beside us in good and bad times. That’s why certain songs or even specific musical patterns can trigger the memory of negative situations we lived in the past and that we would rather leave behind forever.

This situation occurs at different levels.

Music is a great tool to trigger past memories, bad or good ones. So it can trigger some traumatic memories, perhaps connected to an accident or any other scary experience, or milder bad memories, perhaps connected to feelings of shame or emotional inconvenience, as well as good memories.

While it is healthier to solve past problems, even through the help of a professional therapist, rather than burying our emotions in the sand, the antidote to this occurrence could simply lie in discovering new music. Or how about trying to substitute that bad memory with a better one, listening to the feared song in a moment of happiness?

Before trying this last solution, however, seek some psychological support, especially if you are dealing with stress disorders, anxiety, or other mental health issues.

So many people around the world are incredibly passionate about making music. From a business perspective, the industry is heavily over-supplied with artists. For this reason, it can be difficult to gain enough traction in the music industry to make enough money for it to be a part-time or full-time job.

Even bands that worked tirelessly to build a relatively large fan base often still need to have part-time jobs to sustain themselves.

For musicians who are starting to get some serious movement, the modern era industry is still a minefield of scams and exploitation when it comes to the business end of the industry, such as record and publishing deals.

Musicians who can’t “make it” (whatever their definition of that might be) often compromise on their dreams by heavily diversifying their work or taking up jobs in other areas of the industry just to support their families.

As odd as this may sound to a community of passionate musicians, not everyone likes music. In fact, some people simply loathe it.

Someone may be too sensitive to loud sounds, therefore finding it challenging to enjoy a song.

Some other people may not understand the point of one or more specific genres or styles, in contrast to those eclectic music lovers who seem to dig any artist or song they are presented with.

Some people may even experience anxiety responses when presented with specific genres of music due to their loudness, dynamics, or overall mood.

Depending on their personality, some people may enjoy different activities, such as reading or doing sports. After all, human beings are all different.

This point probably sounds incredibly obvious, but playing loud music can certainly be a nuisance to other people. You may be playing this in your home, in your car, or in a public place.

Playing unreasonably loud music at any time of day, particularly at night time, can be a major headache for your neighbors and family.

Music sounds quite different far away or when it has to travel through walls.

The great-sounding dance beat might sound great to you, but the people next door might mostly hear badly muffled drums and the low end of the bass. Therefore, even if your neighbor has similar music tastes to you, they could still consider your music as noise pollution!

It’s nice to be mindful of others, and if you are playing loud music, then make sure to do it in an appropriate place and time of day.

If you really want to blast music at night time, then use a set of headphones (though also be mindful of point 1 in this article!).

Another one of the negative effects of music is related to party culture. Party music and clubbing atmospheres can make people more likely to make bad decisions with regard to alcohol and other substances; this is particularly true for younger generations.

Music can alter your behavior, especially when combined with substances or alcohol. These behavioral changes often lead to bad decisions and regret in the end. But, of course, these changes can lead to good results as music is also a powerful tool to inspire and motivate you. It can lead to great changes in your life when used wisely.

This is much more of an “indirect” disadvantage of music, as these bad decisions are likely a product of the party and clubbing environment. However, one of the most important factors in these environments is music.

Music may be a recurring positive presence in our lives, but it can also come with negatives both to yourself and to others. So, it is important to avoid the cons of listening to music to enjoy it in a healthy way.

Make sure to be mindful of these to ensure that you can enjoy music as much as possible while also having a great impact on the quality of life and the people around you.

Brian Clark

I’ve been a writer with Musician Wave for six years, turning my 17-year journey as a multi-instrumentalist and music producer into insightful news, tutorials, reviews, and features.

Band Checklist – 55 Things to Bring to Your Gig

DJ’s Gig Checklist – 50 Essential Items

Sound Engineer’s Gig Checklist – 80 Essential Items

Music Festival Preparation Checklist – 80 Essential Items

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Musician Wave is owned and operated by Indigo Media Ltd.

Address: Indigo Media Ltd, 8 The Green, Suite #14648 Dover, DE 19901 United States

Phone: +1(302) 487-1715 Email: [email protected]

Get in touch via our contact page .

This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

Subscribe to our  YouTube Channel

Listening to music while studying is good or bad?

Table of Contents

Fill Out the Form for Expert Academic Guidance!

Please indicate your interest Live Classes Books Test Series Self Learning

Verify OTP Code (required)

I agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy .

Fill complete details

Target Exam ---

Music begins, where words leave off. we’ve all heard “Music soothes our soul!” Music can stimulate many parts of the brain and emotions. Music can slow down high blood pressure and heart rate. The combination of music and moving our body makes our soul happy. Music gives a soulful impact on the universe. Music gives wings to the brain, flight to the imagination, and life to everything. This will help to relax your mood and a good start to your work at home, during pandemic situations. While studying, music can be a great distraction.

Music can pass information, from culture to culture, describe reality, express feelings and emotions, entertain, exchange knowledge and experience, inspire, motivate and make a “call to action”, to make business and develop the economy. Some benefits of Music are as follows:

• Improves mood.
• Reduces stress.
• Lessens anxiety.
• Improves exercise.
• Improves memory.
• Provides comfort.
• Improves cognition.
• It’s heart-healthy.
• It relieves symptoms of depression.
• It stimulates memories.
• It manages pain.
• It helps people eat less.

Some researchers say that listening to music while you study or work doesn’t always make you less productive or efficient.

Music can raise mood, get them excited, or make them calm and relaxed. Music is important because it allows us to feel nearly or possibly all emotions that we experience in our lives. The possibilities are endless.

Music is an important part of their lives. Music fills a need or an urge to create music. If you want to study music, you need not give it up. Some tips like avoiding music with lyrics, choosing slow, instrumental music, avoiding surprising or experimental music, keeping the volume low, Stream commercial-free music will help you. But, Any music that has lyrics in a language you understand will probably prove more distracting than helpful.

Slow, instrumental music may lead to a sound sleep during online classes or study. Music that changes lacks a fixed rhythm can leave you guessing about what to expect. This can distract you from focusing on your work. If music is too loud, it could disrupt your thinking process. Music that you love or hate can affect your ability to concentrate.

Music can be a great disaster while studying:

When you listen to songs with words, you will flow yourself on the song rather than focus on your studies. Hence, find a quiet place to study rather than listen to music as you do so. Drawbacks of listening to Music while Studying and still, despite these benefits, studies have shown that music is oftentimes more distracting than it is helpful. Some disadvantages of music while studying are as follow:

Decreased Productivity-

Music can be a distraction from tunes while studying. It takes more of your attention that should be focused on studying, which means that it lowers your productivity. Listening to music can reduce students’ productivity levels by at least ten percent. Some people feel like listening to music allows them to study for longer, and understand that no scientific study has proven this to be true. Therefore, music can’t be used as a study tool.

Impairing Your Cognitive Abilities

The changing words and the fluctuation of tunes throw you off whenever you try to memorize stuff, hence hurting your studying. Memorizing is part and parcel of the process of studying for your exams. It can be challenging for you to memorize stuff while listening to music. Music impairs your brain’s cognitive abilities. It makes it very difficult to memorize the things you are reading.

Make you less efficient

Listening to music with lyrics while completing reading or writing tasks tends to be less efficient. They may have absorbed less information.

Depress your mood while studying

Too loud music can have adverse effects on reading comprehension and mood, making focus more difficult.

Decrease memory and can give negative impact

Students who use music to help them memorize sometimes need to listen to music while taking the test to reap the benefits of this study method. In the silent environment, students find it more difficult to recall the information.

Listening to Music Lower Your Productivity

The audio, physical stimulus, and smells will all lower your productivity. Music without words i.e. classical, drum, bass, jogging music, etc., removes your mind’s need to interpret words. Listening to music can lower your productivity.

Act as a barrier

Listening to music with words is the worst thing you have ever done. In that time your mind is forced to dedicate a portion of your mind to interpret the song.

Best while working out

You find it easier to concentrate because you already know the song off by heart. Music with words will affect your reading comprehension. That is why music with words is suitable for working out. Music is not helpful for tasks that require concentration. It can distract you. Music has the power to distract. At the time of stress, music can distract you with your favourite tunes that help to lift your spirits. Distraction isn’t what you’re looking for when you need to hit the books. It is very difficult to solve calculus equations because music is too loud or fast. This might just interrupt your thoughts and hinder your process. It can harm the working memory. Working memory means the information you use for problem-solving, learning, and other cognitive tasks. Music is a big disaster while remembering items on a list, steps for solving a maths problem, a sequence of events, etc. People can work with certain information at a time. A high working memory capacity means you can handle more than one work. Listening to loud music can reduce working memory capacity. If you already have a hard time, listening to music could make this process even more challenging. It can lower reading comprehension. Certain types of music, including fast music, loud music, and music with lyrics, can make it harder to understand and absorb reading material. Ultimately, the effects of music on study habits are dependent on the student and their style of learning. If easily distracted, students should most likely avoid music so they can keep their focus on their work. Conversely, students who function better as multitaskers may find that music helps them to better concentrate.

Also read: In Conversation JEE Main 2021 Rankers Priyansh Lakshmi

1. Write down some benefits of music.

Ans: Some benefits of Music are as follows:

2. How can music be a great disaster while studying?

• Decreased Productivity.
• Impairing Your Cognitive Abilities.
• Make you less efficient.
• Depress your mood while studying.
• Decreasing memory can have a negative impact.
• Listening to Music While Studying Will Lower Your Productivity.
• Act as a barrier.
• Best while working out.

Related content

Get access to free Mock Test and Master Class

Register to Get Free Mock Test and Study Material

Offer Ends in 5:00

Select your Course

Please select class.

The Pros And Cons Of Listening To Music While You Work

Music is more than a preferential pastime. In fact, opinions on whether or not music is helpful in the workplace seem to be almost untouchable. As for whose opinion is correct, it often depends on a variety of factors. Between the type of job in question, the genre of music and the individual, there are a lot of variables that can impact how music interacts with productivity .

In the case for music at work, the BBC notes that following along with various tunes can help people focus better and simultaneously improve their cognition. " Historically, music and work have always been intertwined," Karen Landay, a former professional violinist and graduate student at the University of Alabama, tells the outlet. "Think about romantic visions of peasants singing as they harvest, or sea chanteys sung by sailors as they work on their ships. And since most people enjoy listening to music of some kind in at least some contexts, it's perfectly natural to feel that music must have some sort of positive impact on our work."

The outlet goes on to cite the "Mozart Effect" in which people who listened to the famous composer for 10 minutes performed better at small tasks. If you're looking to concentrate and work better, finding instrumental harmonies can give you the extra support you need. Furthermore, different tunes can liven up monotonous work and keep you feeling upbeat. However, music with lyrics may distract you from more intense projects, so you'll need to choose your music and your timing wisely.

Music has varying effects on memory

While some studies show that music positively affects the memory stores of the brain, others find the opposite. Healthline reports that listening to different tunes can slow your working memory. This aspect of the brain handles sequential data and remembering various lists. Most people can only remember a few details at a time and listening to music may take up valuable space. Indeed, some research links a reduction in working memory capacity to listening to music while you perform tasks.

In addition to impacting your working memory and reducing your ability to concentrate, listening to music also may lower your reading comprehension, the outlet notes. We all know the feeling of reading something but having no recollection of what we just perused — and music can often create that feeling. Limiting your ability to dive deep into the task in front of you, playing your favorite song could be more detrimental than you think.

Just like you've probably noticed already, you may have to turn down your playlist when you get to more in-depth items on your to-do list. On the other hand, menial tasks that don't require your full attention can pair well with music that keeps you moving and feeling uplifted. Since songs can improve your mood, it may be wise to play a happy playlist in the morning to set you up for the day ahead but turn it off when it's time to focus. 

Recommended

Advantages and Disadvantages of Active Listening

Looking for advantages and disadvantages of Active Listening?

We have collected some solid points that will help you understand the pros and cons of Active Listening in detail.

But first, let’s understand the topic:

What is Active Listening?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of active listening.

The following are the advantages and disadvantages of Active Listening:

Advantages of Active Listening

Disadvantages of active listening.

You can view other “advantages and disadvantages of…” posts by clicking here .

If you have a related query, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Also, kindly share the information with your friends who you think might be interested in reading it.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

whizz-kids education

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Listening to Music While Studying

Music has a great effect on our mind. It affects our psychological state. Apart from that it also helps us retain information and stay focused in their work. It has been a usual thing now for us to listen to music while studying. Almost, everyone does that though everybody has a different reason for doing so.

While for some it helps them concentrate for others it helps remove stress. Even the very fact that “music helps one study well” has been a matter to debate on. Thus, today we are here to discuss some points about both the sides of the argument being completely unbiased.

Advantages of Listening to Music While Studying

• One must have heard about the very common Mozart effect’. This is a very popular term which states that listening music can actually affect your intelligence in a positive way. Listening to Mozart ten minutes before a test can help one comprehend better and recall information.
• Music also helps an individual concentrate better. It improves focus, provides motivation and also makes one’s mood better. It helps increase one’s endurance and study for long hours.
• It decreases stress levels and cure anxiety which helps one memorize things faster.
• It really helps one isolate oneself if they are in an busy environment by simply plugging in their earphones. Thus, in turn helps one study effectively.
• Listening to music is probably the best exercise for one’s brain. Like our body our brain ages too and without exercising it properly, it could really age fast. Doing things like writing, reading, solving puzzles and listening to music keeps it more healthy and youthful.

Disadvantages of Listening to Music While Studying

After discussing the advantages it’s now time to discuss about some big drawbacks of the same:.

• ‘ Mozart Effect ‘ may have gained a lot of popularity during the 90s but there’s a lack of scientific evidences to prove its authenticity. Thus, it not necessarily be as useful as one thinks it to be.
• Students who have the habit of listening to music with lyrics does more bad than good to them. It decreases their concentration and efficiency which reduces their ability to study.
• Even loud and agitated music can give negative effects. It removes focus making it difficult for a person to study. It also affects the comprehensive quality of a student.
• This were some important aspects of music both positive and negative. You can also buy essay at Unitutor if you are keen on knowing about it more. This is a topic where coming to a certain conclusion can be really difficult or even impossible.

One can give numerous points for or against it. The probable conclusion that can be made is music is really helpful as long as it’s instrumental or really subtle whereas music with that’s of loud nature can actually do the opposite. Still it cannot be the besa t conclusion as different people prefer listening to different genre of music. Hence, it’s safe to end it by saying that it depends upon the students how they perceive music and how does it effect them while studying.

https://youtube.com/S5_APAxM5Lg

Related Posts

Tips for building a professional sound system.

YOUNG LEARNERS ROCK!

This blog is the work of young students from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They study at ACE in the Young Learners 10 class. This is their first blog.

ACE BLOG LINKS

• The blog of YL11 Current Term
• The blog of YL10 Term 4 2010
• The blog of YL10 Term 3 2010

Wednesday 16 March 2011

The advantages and disadvantages of music.

4 comments:

Haha! You also live to listen to music right?

Yep, I love music

Hi Julin. This is an excellent 'for and against' essay. Good job! You wrote: 'It depend on their interesting.' Better would be: 'It depends on what they are interested in.' Good writing and I enjoyed reading your post!

Essay: Have we been wasting our money on streaming?

With all music at the touch of the button, what benefits can we find in turning down the tap of streaming? One music lover explores the advantages and disadvantages of unlimited music.

By guest writer kendall burke, $800 and nothing to show for it..

That’s how much I have paid to Spotify, and only pennies of it have gone to the musicians who have been crafting the soundtrack of my life. If I stopped my Premium account tomorrow, I would have paid over $800 and be left with nothing, no music library.

With the recent Spotify price increase having recently gone into effect, basic memberships are now at $11.99 per month for unlimited streaming, no ads, and the ability to download music onto your devices. But after crossing the $12 threshold, reality has finally shaken me enough to finally answer the question, am I better off buying my music instead of streaming it?

The decision to cut your music streaming service (no matter which one) may seem daunting to the casual, habitual, or hardcore music listener. Streaming is how we listen to music now. Even when we don’t have wifi or cell service, we can still be comforted by the selection of downloaded songs on our accounts. But, in anticipation of the next inevitable price hike, will you have the guts to say no and stop paying the fee? Of course not! How will you listen to music? (What am I supposed to do, listen to my own thoughts?) Because for all the hours you spent carefully crafting your playlists, liking songs, and trying to figure out how you have two copies of the same album in your library, the second you say “no more streaming”, you have nothing left.

Math for Music Lovers

Of course it didn’t use to be this way, and not so long ago we would happily shell out $12 for a whole album that we could listen to rain or shine, on our computer, phone, iPod, or even CD or record player. On the iTunes store, you can buy a brand new album from Taylor Swift, one of the most popular music artists today, for only 3 more dollars than your monthly Spotify fee. You can buy a 5 year old Swift album for the exact same price as your monthly Spotify fee. And you can listen to those songs as many times as you want, essentially, for the rest of eternity.

Now this might seem like terrible math. $11.99 for (pretty much) all the music in the world, or $11.99 for only 18 songs (I’m using Lover as the example here). Music fans would surely have to scoff, because more is more and finding the newest, nichest artist makes you a cool music-head instead of a simpleton who happens to enjoy listening to the same album from the ’90s over and over and over again. But even if you could listen to every song on the platform in a month, why would you do that? Music is a medium prime for repeat listens, and it’s in repetition that favorites are found and cemented. The song morphs from being an unknown sonic entity to being as essential to your identity as the cells in your body.

I started my Spotify account in 2016 and sometime in 2017 I went premium, so up until July 2023, I was shelling out $9.99 for unlimited music. However, I have never listened to unlimited music. While I made efforts to branch out of my favorites, I will always have my ride-or-dies. I’ve given Spotify over $800 since 2017, and if I finally said I’ve had enough, I would be left in possibly the worst place of all – without a music library.

If I had instead bought music every month, at around the same price (for convenience sake, let’s say I only spent up to Spotify’s monthly amount, so $10 a month up until July 2023, and $11 a month until July 2024), I could have give or take 84 albums in a permanent music collection, perfectly safe from a handful of apocalypse situations.

This math is probably not convincing enough, but I find something endearing in the idea of slowing down and being intentional about your consumption. If you only could buy one new album every month with your hard earned money, you would have to be more discerning, and recognize that sometimes you might make a bad choice.

To Stream or Not to Stream?

Looking back at my personal music habits, I would probably be better off buying my music. For one, I don’t actually use Spotify’s discovery features nearly enough to argue that Spotify helps me discover new music. I can count on one hand the amount of times I listened to their recommendations, and probably less the amount of times I actually liked it enough to put into a semi-regular rotation. I find YouTube, friends and family, movie soundtracks, and tracing my favorite artist’s inspirations a more reliable and interesting way to find new music. (I am also a crumudgeon who hates being forcibly recommended things). And two, the most important thing, is once I love a song or album, there is nothing stopping me from listening to it every day for the rest of my life. So yes, I am a music lover, even if I don’t listen to all the new music that comes out every Friday.

I don’t want to inflate my experiences with everyone else, because I know there are plenty of people who can enjoy music more with streaming services than with dusty CDs. But maybe you are one of those who might be just fine without it. For example if:

• You listen to a lot of music from pre-streaming times, when nearly all newly released music was available for digital download or in physical form. Bonus! Older titles may be cheaper than a monthly due to streaming.
• You listen to the same songs over and over again. When you find an album you like, it’s yours forever. Go crazy. Spotify can’t call you out for it in their Wrapped anymore.
• You want to support your favorite artists and you already have enough band tees.
• You are a home body. Maybe with enough space for some CDs too. If not, buy a refurbished iPod (or refurbish it yourself). Enjoy the clacking of CD cases and the scroll of a iPod touch wheel.

There is, of course, the ethical quagmire of streaming services. Spotify’s own CEO has repeatedly made statements that befuddle the most ardent streaming supporter and infuriate the music lover. Most notably, streaming pays fractions of pennies to the artists.

The rise of streaming in all media formats has pushed an agenda of consuming more and always searching for the next new thing, only to forget it a week later for the even newer next thing. Movies, music, books–there is so much out there, and for so little money we have access to most, if not all of it. But just because you have access to everything, doesn’t mean you need to feel pressured to enjoy everything.

And even if you decide to keep your streaming service, don’t let the abyss of options drown out what you love. You’re not any less of a music fan if you spend your time listening to every note, every lyric, enjoying the song you’re listening to instead of thinking about the one that is next.

Kendall Burke is a New York-based art and culture writer who isn’t afraid to let her obsessions show.

“Finding My Identity & Voice Through Rock N’ Roll”: An Essay by The Happy Fits’ Calvin Langman

You may also like.

Artist to Watch: Emily Blue’s “The Afterlove” Is a Radiant Kiss of Intimate Brooding & Pop Magic

Live Review: Clairo is a Force to Reckon With at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer

Today’s Song: Honesty and Redemption in The Japanese House’s “Face Like Thunder”

A Flag in the Sand: A Silent Film’s Loud Awakening

Live Review: The Met Philly Bears Witness to Bastille’s Cinematic and Colourful Doom Days

Today’s Song: Lxandra Mesmerizes with “Dip My Heart in Confetti”

More stories.

Live: Lorde’s Melodrama Tour Left Fans with Stars in Their Eyes & Pockets