Posted by Based on research studies, it’s been found that roughly 75% of young people listen to music while they’re doing homework. That’s an astonishingly high percentage. But is it beneficial or harmful? Will it cause emotional stress or lower it? Emotional stress causes a great number of physiological disorders including headaches, elevated blood pressure levels, ulcers, and other types of afflictions. Music is unquestionably an emotional expression and can result in both negative or positive psychological or physical changes to the human body. Since stress or tension can adversely affect learning, the question becomes “can music lower the stress that studying will cause?”
Research has found that music will affect frame of mind and stress levels. Music is occasionally used to aid in recovery rates resulting from medical ailments and can lower a person’s heart rate and hypertension levels, producing a calming benefit. And so initially it might seem that music will make learning much less stressful, which in turn will increase the ability to study. Nevertheless, whether or not this is true depends on a few variables.
The truth is, the more complex the subject, the more likely it’ll be that music interferes with the learning process. However, for subjects that are much less complex, music will often supply emotional arousal that produces a positive learning experience.
Whether music influences learning positively or negatively will depend on the kind of music listened to and the temperament of the person studying. Music that has a faster tempo calls for more focus, which may raise the pulse rate and BP levels. On the contrary, music that has a much slower beat can reduce a person’s heart rate, which can result in a mental state that is way too calm for beneficial study.
Music that’s too loud makes it more difficult to focus on learning. But when it’s really quiet a person might put forth a lot more effort into listening to the music, which will also cause concentration difficulties. Ideally, the volume will be moderate, not too soft or load. Music written in a major key is in most cases more happy and positive while music in a minor key is typically more sad. For learning practices, it is recommended to play music that’s written in a major key at mid volume and tempo.
Lyrics are another aspect, and quite possibly the most detrimental part of music. Whenever someone is attempting to study, while also trying to listen to the lyrics of the song, the very same parts of the human brain are doing their best to do two specific things at once. Research indicates that students are preoccupied the most when they listen to music they know the best.
One more issue concerns the person’s personality. Introverts require a smaller amount of stimulation while extroverts need a greater amount. Extroverts frequently gain benefit from the increased stimulation that music offers while an introvert’s brain can be disrupted.
As you can see, there are a number of factors that determine whether or not music is going to be beneficial or disruptive while learning or studying. The application of music is a personal thing, and what’s beneficial to one individual may be detrimental for another person.