How cool would it be if you could just put on your favorite study playlist and memorize all those dates for your history final? Unfortunately, Music is not that powerful. But it can still make a big difference. There’s strong evidence that music has a powerful impact on our physiological states, emotions, and thought processes. If you’re a student going through the high and lows of uni life you should definitely try listening to music while studying. Here’s why.
Music For Motivation
There’s no doubt that university life would be far more tedious without music. A tiny bit of motivating music is all you need for that extra boost of confidence to get your head down and work hard. Here’s a study if you’re skeptical. Music causes the release of dopamine, which makes a person feel happier, more motivated, and relaxed. And you don’t want to take an exam feeling despondent and tired.
Music To Improve Your Reasoning Skills
According to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, music helps you increase your reasoning skills. Your brain processes the constant stream of information it receives from the world by dividing it into smaller fragments. Listening to music is an active task. Typically in music when something (like a new movement) is about to come next is made clear by a change in rhythm, while what will come is far less certain. Prediction and anticipation are therefore essential. By listening to music, you’re training your brain to pay better attention to events and to make predictions about what will happen. That’s why you end up improving your reasoning skills. You won’t be able to pull those history dates out of thin air. But you may be better at getting the right answers with the information you do have.
Music For Better Concentration
Similar to the way exercise stimulates your body, music can stimulate your concentration. There are studies linking classical music to better performance in processing and memory tasks. While, of course, this can be subjective, there’s no reason to hold back. After all, you probably know how your muscles become stronger after each workout. Consider listening to music your cognitive workout.
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Nature Sounds For Studying
However, not everyone finds music helpful for tasks that require concentration. The problem is that any student is surrounded by a cacophony of sounds, whistles, and noises. Your roommates will never shut up. You can hear traffic and loud neighbors. And let’s not even start talking about the chaos of studying with children nearby. If so, you might find relief with nature sounds. You’ve got plenty of options: waterfalls and rushing rivers, sea waves, raindrops, birds singing in the forest. Those peaceful outdoor sounds will make studying far more pleasant.
I, personally, don’t do anything without listening to music. So, while writing this blog post, I have been listening to soothing background music. If you liked the article, check the video below as well.
