There are many ways that music can enhance our lives. Whether you use it as a coping mechanism to relieve stress or as a tool to help you focus, music can be extremely beneficial to each of us in different ways. Many of us enjoy listening to music while carrying out various different tasks such as doing household chores, while driving or even to help us drift off to sleep.
For students, aiding studies can certainly be one way in which music can assist you. A recent survey estimated that around 60% of students use music to help with studying.
To explore this further, let’s take a look at the specific ways how music has been reported to help us when studying.
Story Stages
Boosts Mood
Listening to music that we enjoy has been known to biologically affect our brain in a number of different ways. Research has shown that blood flows more easily when music is played and as a result, this lowers our heart rate, blood pressure and decreases the release of the stress hormone, cortisol. Alongside this, it increases the production of serotonin and dopamine, also known as “happy hormones ”, elevating our overall mood. While some students are content with playing music from their phones, others can find this distracting due to incoming texts and notifications which may take your mind off your studies. Turntables and records can be a great alternative if you want a more authentic sound that doesn’t require you to look at a screen every couple of minutes to change the song.
It Helps You Focus
Revising can be difficult at the best of times, particularly when it’s for a subject that you find dull or difficult. You may find your mind wanders in an attempt to procrastinate when it comes to topics you don’t enjoy as much. Adding gentle sounds allowing your brain to zone into what you’re doing, rather than entertaining itself with other distractions. If you find general music too distracting, white noise sounds can often be a popular choice for people who need to focus, as it provides you with a level of background noise that your mind to plug into without it being distracted by melody.
Retain Information
Some people find music can be the perfect tool to unlock memories and information that was retained while listening to a certain song or sound. Think of it almost like learning by association. The song can act as a trigger for the facts absorbed at the time of listening to this. Studies have shown that music activates both the left and right side of the brain at the same time. This activation of both hemispheres can maximise learning and improve memory.
