Picture this: It’s 9pm, you have a 2000 word essay due in 12 hours but you’re barely 12 words in. It’s time to crunch. You grab an ill-advised late-night coffee, slap on your headphones and fire up the old lofi beats playlist and start typing away.

But while the lofi girl continues to study for all eternity with the help of soft, jazzy hip hop instrumentals, are they actually any good at helping us focus? Are there better music choices for getting stuff done?

As it turns out, we all experience and react to music differently. So the answer is pretty complicated! Let’s look at the pros and cons of studying with music:

PRO: Music helps relieve stress.

Few things are more stressful than a major assignment, so it’s a good thing that music can be a powerful stress reliever!

One 2013 study carried out a psychological stress test on participants while they were listening to relaxing music, sounds of rippling water, or no particular sound. The people listening to relaxing music had lower levels of stress-related hormones than those listening to water or nothing at all. In another study, patients in ICU said they felt less pain and anxiety after listening to music for 30 minutes than before.

CON: Music can lower reading comprehension

If you prefer your music fast and loud, you might be out of luck. Research from Macquarie University has found that listening to heavy background music could make it harder to understand and absorb reading material.

So softer music with a slow tempo may be the better choice for spending the evening with your biology textbook!

PRO: Music can motivate you.

Sometimes you need a little external motivation to get through a hard study session, and delayed gratification makes that choccy bar or TV episode feel much more earned and rewarding.

But did you know that, according to research from 2019, music can activate the same reward centers in your brain as other things you enjoy? Rewarding yourself with your favorite tunes between periods of study can provide the motivation you need to learn new information and keep your brain rockin’ and rollin’.

CON: Music can affect your “working memory”.

“Working memory” is the part of your memory you use while remembering items on a list, sequences of numbers, or any task where you need to keep track of multiple things at once. Some research has shown that having background music playing can lower your capacity to hold on to multiple bits of information at once.

So if you already have a hard time keeping track of numbers, dates, or what you were thinking of writing down just a second ago, listening to music could make it even more challenging.

What kind of music works best?

Listening to music while you study or work doesn’t always make you less productive or efficient.

If you prefer to study with music, there’s no need to give it up. Keeping these tips in mind can help you find the most helpful music for work and study:

Avoid music with lyrics. It’s hard to concentrate when someone else is talking to your brain! You can try music from languages that you don’t understand if you still want the sound of a human voice.
Choose slow, instrumental music. Classical music is perfect for this, but if it’s not your vibe you could try ambient styles of rock or techno, smooth jazz, or the ever-faithful lofi hip hop beats to relax/sleep/study to, of course.
Avoid surprising or experimental music. Music with a lot of sudden changes in volume or tempo can distract your brain and keep you from focusing on your work.
Keep the volume low. Study music should stay at a background volume. If it’s too loud, it will disrupt your thinking process.
Stick to songs you don’t have strong feelings about. If you love or hate a song that you’re listening to, it’s more likely to distract you from what you’re doing (especially if you hate it!).
Stream ad-free music, if possible. The last thing you want you’re listening to your instrumental station when a toilet paper commercial cuts in, annoying you and derailing your train of thought.

The Bottom Line:

Music can be a powerful concentration and motivation tool when studying or working, but you need to be thoughtful with your music choices to make it effective. Remember, keep your music low & slow for the best results, and give yourself plenty of breaks regardless of how good the music is. Good luck with your studies!

Should You Listen To Music While Studying?