(ORDO NEWS) — Students often do their homework to music, as do office workers who play their favorite songs during their work routine. Does music help us learn and work, or does it just hinder our productivity?
Some people can’t imagine completing tasks without a player, while others prefer to work in silence
Learning something requires a certain concentration, especially if the material you are studying requires reading and processing information. The sound itself isn’t inherently distracting, but music with lyrics can get in the way of your studies.
If you listen to songs that are written in the same language as the textbooks, then it will be very difficult for you to focus on the learning material. This is due to multitasking. Your brain is trying to process both language inputs at the same time.
Research has shown that this occurs with any form of state-changing speech (speech flow: songs, books, dialogue). For example, a person who will talk to you during your studies will distract you in the same way as music.
The processes of storing information in memory and understanding begin to slow down against the background of a stimulus. On the other hand, lyrics don’t have much of an impact on learning math because you’re no longer trying to handle two different language inputs.
Complete silence is considered the best environment for concentration and retention of information. However, there is also the concept of white noise: sustainable repetition. If someone on repeat counts from one to ten, you will not be much distracted from your studies.
A number of other studies have shown that instrumental music is helpful while studying. Classical music, in particular, has received a lot of positive feedback in this study. A Stanford study almost a decade ago looked at the effects of classical music on brain activity and found that it does improve our ability to focus.
However, the most interesting thing about this issue is that in fact … everything happens differently for everyone! For example, nervous people may need soothing music to help them prepare for school. But for those who fall asleep at work, something energetic in the background is perfect!
If you like a particular song, enjoying the music will make the learning process more enjoyable, but will not necessarily improve memory/concentration.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.