Answering the age-old question! Listening to music while studying: friend or foe?
For some students, the urge to turn on music while studying comes naturally. At the same time, there seems to be this enduring, collective confusion about whether or not this habit is beneficial or harmful — or if it’s even related to academic performance at all.
When a habit comes so naturally, it can be difficult to question it. But for students, it’s always a good idea to understand how certain behaviors are impacting their studying.
Well? We dove into the research, and we’re excited to give you the scoop when it comes to how music may affect study sessions.
What is the impact of listening to music while studying?
Turns out, understanding the effects of listening to music while studying may not be so black and white. In reality, there are various factors that come into play. And by considering each individually, we can begin to understand just how listening to music affects study outcomes.
Music and the brain
Generally speaking, music is definitively related to the brain. When we listen to music, we simultaneously activate numerous brain networks. Such networks are related to different factors that affect studying — namely: stress, memory, and mood.
In various ways, each of these areas plays a role in a student’s studying. So, it would make sense that music may also play a role.
Actually, there is reason to believe that music does, indeed, play a role.
What do teachers have to say about listening to music and learning?
Teachers and educators have consistently offered anecdotal evidence that utilizing music as an educational tool can significantly enhance students’ learning. By integrating music in various forms — whether through singing, listening, or creating — teachers have observed a profound impact on students’ academic performance.
Additionally, researchers have suggested that teachers can utilize music as a tool, or, “music therapy,” to support students with learning disorders, such as autism.
So we know that there exist links between music and cognition. And of course, we know that cognition is one of the major keys involved in studying and learning.
But how, exactly, does listening to music impact studying?
Music and stress
Are there ever times where you feel this urgent need to put on a pair of headphones and blast music? For so many of us, this happens when we’re particularly stressed. Evidently, music serves as this magic pill that helps us block out some of the noise.
Is there a real relationship here, or is some type of placebo effect?
Researchers have found that, indeed, music is associated with different physiological reactions associated with stress recovery, including lower heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels.
In addition, more blatantly, research has found that listening to happy or positive music may be related to lower levels of subjective stress.
Students can thus use music to their advantage.
Students: Maybe you’ve just learned that you have a huge exam. And it’s definitely going to be challenging. So, in this scenario, instead of walking away from class with your face scrunched and your fists balled, try listening to a few songs that tend to relax you. See if you do, in fact, begin to feel more calm.
Music and memory
While teachers advise students to learn material instead of relying on memorization, there are admittedly times in every student’s academic career when they have to do the latter.
For example, when preparing for a vocabulary quiz, students are likely to use flashcards instead of delving into the etymology, uses, and contexts of each word. Why? Because flashcards are effective and require significantly fewer cognitive resources than most other options.
Researchers have found that generally, music may be involved in the process of making memories. This would thus lead one to ask, may music support memory-based learning?
One Stanford study found that music engages areas of the brain involved in paying attention, making predictions, and maintaining memories (and in turn improving memory retention).
The researchers explained that their study demonstrated how, over a period of time, music engages the brain to the point where its ability to ”anticipate events and sustain attention” is sharpened.
Interestingly, researchers have actually found that musicians — compared to non-musicians — have more gray matter in the region of the frontal cortex that is involved in different working memory processes. (Gray matter, essential brain tissue, plays a crucial role in your daily functioning.)
Listening to music can help us create memories
When it comes to purely memorization-based work, research has found that music can help students not only recall information, but also lay down new memories (which, in the context of studying, is subject-based information).
When we listen to certain songs, over and over again while studying, we eventually start to associate the song with the information. And the result is that when we play that specific soundtrack, we’re more able to recall the material.
Students: This means that, if you’re allowed to listen to music during exams, you might benefit from listening to the same songs on a loop during study sessions, and then using the same playlist for the exam.
Music and mood
If you are — or have ever been — a student, you can attest to the fact that grinding through a study session is much easier when you’re in a good mood than when you’re down in the dumps.
As you would have it, research has established a link between listening to music and mood improvement.
Research has found that listening to music can trigger a release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. And this is significant, because it highlights the potential of music to enhance students’ mood and thus improve their studying outcomes.
But of course, everyone is different, and for some people, music may be almost too enjoyable, and draw them into a musical bliss, but away from the task at hand. As such, it may serve as a distraction rather than a motivator for some people.
Students: Observe the difference in your study sessions when you listen to music versus when you don’t. Reflect on whether music makes you feel happier. If it does, consider if this happiness enhances your studying, or pulls your brain away from the subjects at hand.
Context matters!
Evidently, there’s certainly a relationship between music and learning, but the link between listening to music and studying outcomes may be more dependent on the individual person as well as the context at hand.
For instance, when evaluating the effect of listening to music on studying outcomes, it’s necessary to consider factors including the specific task, the type of music, the individual’s mood prior to studying, and the individual’s personality.
Because in reality, the research seems to be somewhat mixed, with most findings leading us to believe that context is key.
For instance, a 2021 article highlighted research suggesting that music can worsen performance in reading tasks compared to performance in silent conditions.
Meanwhile, other research also says the opposite — that music can elevate focus.
For instance, a study by the Department of Learning and Instruction at Ulm Universität in Germany found that although background music may put extra cognitive strain on our working memory, in certain contexts, it can also improve learning.
The article also suggested that certain features of the music, such as tempo and intensity, specifically, may affect studying outcomes.
Important takeaways from the article
Music pace and type matters.
- Soft, fast music may have beneficial effects on learning.
- Loud music may have adverse effects on learning.
- Slow, soft music may also negatively impact learning.
- Instrumental music may distract people less than music with lyrics.
Additionally, a 2007 study again found that context matters. The researchers determined that music — in particular, classical music — can help your brain absorb and interpret new information more easily.
The type of task at hand also matters.
Meanwhile, research also shows that it’s important to consider the type of task you’re working on.
For instance a 2019 study looked at the effects of listening to music while working on complex and simple tasks. The researchers found that music generally had negative effects on performance during complex tasks, but had positive effects on performance during simple tasks.
Students: So perhaps, when tackling complex subjects — like quantum physics — music may not be the best companion. However, for simpler topics like basic arithmetic, music may help with staying focused.
If listening to music while studying isn’t for you
In a perfect world, we could all enjoy belting show tunes, screaming metal, or soothing instrumentals while also successfully studying.
As you would have it, though, many of us aren’t actually able to do this — particularly if we’re set on listening to songs with lyrics. (This can be more distracting than beneficial for lots of us.)
It’s crucial to recognize that we often overestimate our multitasking abilities, so not being able to listen to music while effectively studying doesn’t make you a failure — just human. Research has long determined that what we perceive as multitasking is actually our focus rapidly switching between tasks.
As a result, when we listen to music while studying, we may not be able to complete the task as compared to if we weren’t listening to music.
But hold on a sec.
Listening to music can still provide you with benefits beyond studying. It can serve as a motivator if you listen before studying or during breaks, and help you relax as you wind down afterward. As you can see, you can still leverage this tool to boost your study game, even while not using it while studying.
Turn up the radio in the car or your headphones on your way to your study spot. Have a solo dance party to Miley’s “Party In The U.S.A.” before you get started. And you can also use this pump-up method during breaks between different tasks.
Additionally, you can try listening to relaxing, soft music when you’re done with your studying session to help you unwind.
Final thoughts
Is there a concrete answer? Should students continue to listen to music while studying?
Some of the research says yes — it can be beneficial. While other researchers have found that on the other hand, it can be distracting. However, it seems that there’s somewhat of a consensus that it depends. It depends on the type of music, the type of task, and the individual.
Understanding the research on the relationship between music and studying is valuable, but it’s likely equally important to personally observe how music affects your study habits.
By taking the time to both consider how music may improve your studying and also assess how listening actually does impact your studying efforts, you can tailor your study sessions accordingly, and as a result, elevate your learning.
