Well, yes and no. It’s much more complicated. Indeed, it depends on the person. While some, me included, are much more productive while listening to music, to others it can be a bother and be considered more of a noise nuisance.
Some data about music and studying
Here is a list of data about music and studying. This information is based on a study conducted by several researchers on the effects of listening to music on concentration. You can find the whole paper here.
- Out of 200 students, 60% listen to music while studying against 40% who don’t.
- Around 96% of students agree listening to music while studying helps them concentrate while the remaining 4% disagree.
- When asked why they listen to music while studying, 56 % answered because it helped them concentrate, 35% said it keeps their mind calm, 20% said it prevents sleepiness and 9% answered because it blocks external interferences.
- 14% listen to heavy metal, 36 % to rock music, 82% to pop songs, 70% to instrumental music, and 43% to classical music.
Pros and cons of studying with the music
Depending on the person, there are a lot of pros and cons of listening to music while studying.
First, here are the pros of listening to music:
- it improves your mood,
- it can increase your motivation,
- it can improve your memory and stimulate your brain,
- it helps you better manage fatigue and pain,
- it can eliminate boredom,
- it stimulates your brain,
- it can really help lower stress.
Although there are a lot of benefits, it might not be beneficial to everyone. Here are the cons to listening to music while studying:
- It can be distracting,
- it can have some negative effects on the way your memory works,
- it can lower reading comprehension and can make it harder to absorb information.
What kind of music to listen to while studying?
Of course, music tastes are different for everyone. Here are some suggestions of music types you could consider.
- Classical music,
- Epic music,
- Video game music,
- Blues and Jazz music,
- EDM.
Those types of music are very different from each other but all can help you better concentrate while studying. Indeed, when listening to music, you might want to look for music with no lyrics. Also, try and listen to music you already know, to not be surprised, and try and keep the volume low to not be distracted too much.
To sum it up
Music can help you concentrate while studying and be more productive, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Also, the choice of music is really important, as you don’t want to be distracted too much. If you still struggle to concentrate while studying, I suggest looking for something that works best for you, as everyone is different and what might work for others won’t necessarily work for you.