Music is one of the artforms that has been around for as long as humanity itself and the recent neurological studies seem to answer the question “Why do we like music so much?”. As they show, the music evokes the same reaction in our brain as the intake of the neurostimulators like drugs or gambling, which means a release of dopamine (the “happiness” hormone), and it does influence the way you feel. Is it the same for the students who seem to be always with the nerves tight and the mood low because of the amount of stress the school can give sometimes? Let’s find it out further.
Who Is a Happy Student?
We do understand that this is a battleground with no winners, but we do make an assumption without writing an essay about happiness to say that a happy student is the one who is successful at studying and outside of it, has no regrets, wants to strive for greatness and feel the desire to be involved in some activities. So now the question is “Can listening to music while studying make a student have their mood elevated?”. And let’s start with the major part that can make a student happier.
Does Music Help You Study?
Everybody has heard at least once in their lives that listening to classical music can improve the studying outcomes and actually make one a better student. This is known as a Mozart myth as it has its origins from the studies in the 90s when a group of researchers tested if listening to classical music makes an impact on spatial intelligence. It turned out, it does but it’s not the same kind of intelligence we put when we try to memorize, understand, recreate or write, for example, happiness. We should mention, however, that it does influence other factors that contribute to obtaining better results while studying. What are they? Let’s consider them in detail.
Music Improves Your Mood
That is by far an effect that you don’t need to conduct surveys or research – you can follow the mood curve going up within minutes while your favorite track is on. You can choose the genre that resonates or contradicts your current emotions and see the anger or sadness intensifies or decreases. The most important thing why it’s happening is that music has a transcendent quality to it, which means it can take you out of one emotional state into the other, and it will need only 3-5 minutes. So, in case you want to flip the switch of your mood, don’t look for something destructive – just dive into your music library and get lost in its massive archives.
It Makes You More Relaxed
And it concerns both passive listeners and those who are playing the music on any instrument. The reason for that is your absolute fixation on what you’re doing: pressing the keys, pulling strings, hitting the cymbal, etc. Even though it somewhat contradicts the logic (how focusing on something can make you relaxed?), when you feel good music, you forget about everything else and absorb it as much as you can. And it’s not by chance that the music therapy is included for the learning strategies for the kids and adult learners who are diagnosed with ADHD. What should be said though is that if you choose the music for studying, don’t opt for one with the lyrics or drastic rhythm changes – your brain will take the bait and most likely, will follow the melody and rhythm rather than algebra equations or laws of Physics.
And Become More Engaged Into What You’re Doing
It stems from the previous idea as the more eased is your mind, the more perceptive and engaged-prone you are. As you can focus better, break down the complex concepts into easily-digestible pieces, you can be caught in the learning groove for a while as nothing bothers you. This serendipity is essential for many things: finishing the homework, writing essays on happiness, marketing, history – literally, any topic, working on the group project, and hitting up everybody to move their cerebral gyri to start on this. And then you can tell your grandkids that it all started with listening to some music.
It Also Motivates Learners
Yes, you don’t need the life coaches to get pumped with motivation and determination to begin and finish something that you need or want – the music can do it for free and with more fun. Just think of it: there are different playlists on Spotify or Google Music dedicated to working, studying, working out, socializing, making out, meditating, doing yoga, and many other things. The reason for this is the particular music can set the mood and make you forget you’re doing something as you’re floating on the beats or melody. This also makes your motivation fly and the more you’re engaged in the activity, the more willing you’re to continue to be that way. Take it as a snowball effect.
Music is so versatile in the effects it has on various people, but when it comes to influencing students, we can only say this: it definitely has a positive effect if chosen wisely. The best part? You will never find a person who doesn’t like any kind of music, either playing or listening. Why? Because it’s a universal happy pill you don’t need a prescription for.
