The booming industry of music has been changing lives for centuries. Whether one is listening to country, pop, classical, or rock listening with headphones, a speaker, making the music, or at a live concert music makes an impact.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything,” Plato said.
It’s hard to not love something that can make one feel desire.
Listening to music gives the listener the ability to decide emotion.
Brunswick High School music teacher, Matthew Hendy, describes music as an impact to mood.
“Music usually makes me feel calm and relaxed. Sometimes it can also make me feel more energized or focused, honestly it just depends on how I am feeling to start and what music I decide to listen too,” Hendy said.
Does Music Help To Study?
Listening to music can not only improve focus and concentration but can help one feel calmer and less stressed allowing for a better work.
Listening to music makes work more enjoyable, allowing students to look forward to completing the assignments and not dread them, leading to procrastination.
“I listen to music during my free time, while doing homework for my masters, or when I need to relax. It helps make everyday activities more enjoyable,” Hendy said.
Music allows for better prediction making and focus, along with concentration and memory.
Different genres of music are shown to have different effects on studying, however it is best to decide what music depending on ones own personal needs. Getting distracted easily would lead to quiet, calming music in the background. Such as nature sounds or classical music, something with out vocals, so there are no distractions.
If silence makes working harder it might suit one’s needs best to play louder music with more talking.
However it all comes down to personality, and what environment one works best in.
How Does Music Affect Anxiety?
Studies done by National Library of Medicine (NLM) prove that listening to soothing music can reduce stress and anxiety.
Bella Sindler, a Brunswick sophomore shares the importance of music to her.
“I feel better and more like myself when listening to music I love,” Sindler said.
Music isn’t just enjoyable but it is fuel for the brain, giving an effect similar to a drug, and while there are prescriptions for anxiety they always come with risks.
Why choose a treatment that can cause painful symptoms and more anxiety when instead one can put on headphones and listen to their favorite song?
Does Listening to Music Help To Sleep?
Many people find it comforting to listen to music while they fall asleep, whether that’s because they like the background music or just need an escape from the world.
Jesse Koskey, a psychiatrist in the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, shares on the importance of music as a safer treatment over drugs or medicines with minimal side effects.
“Music is a low-cost, accessible, and effective treatment for insomnia. The only side effect I came across was the ‘earworm effect,’ where a song gets stuck in your head,” Koskey said.
Studies show that it doesn’t matter what genre of music being listened to because all of them will improve sleep.