The idea of listening to music while studying is a very common one for students. Some students may be surprised to learn that it can actually help them study and retain information better than they would without the sound.
Dopamine and memory information processing occurs in many areas throughout our brains and most people experience some degree of memory formation when learning new things. When you listen to music while studying, it helps to activate multiple parts of the brain at once.
Simply put, having both auditory stimulation along with visual information being processed by your brain can help improve memory retention. The dopamine released during this process is partly responsible for helping us remember what we are doing and why.
<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7560769783763879"
crossorigin="anonymous"></script>Dopamine is released when you are doing something that’s enjoyable to you, especially when it brings on some type of pleasurable reward.
You remember better while listening to music because your brain releases dopamine every time it hears new information, which makes you want to listen more intently and therefore remember it more clearly.
This explains why some students have difficulty focusing on their studies, as it is usually not an enjoyable process for them. If you can put yourself in a good mood whenever you need to study, it will help improve your memory and attention span.
Your brain doesn’t remember meaningless information as well as it does the things that mean something to you. Put yourself into a good mood by listening to your favorite music, and you’ll find that it’s much easier to focus on what you need to learn.
<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7560769783763879"
crossorigin="anonymous"></script>The music doesn’t have to be loud for this process to work either. If the volume is too high, it can actually make you even more stressed while studying because of all the other extra noise.
When you study, try to play music that is instrumental without any words being sung along with it. This will help improve your concentration because you won’t have anything to distract you from the information that’s being presented.
Another thing that can help improve memory retention while studying is listening to low volumes of different types of music. For example, try listening to classical music one day and soft rock another. This creates a different mood in your brain that will help you learn what you are being taught.
