Many studies have been carried out to find out whether music helps with concentration or not, but the results have been mixed. Some studies said that music helped, while others said that music reduces performance.
According to a study, the preferred type of music you like can distract you since you are more likely to focus on the lyrics than on the studying material. See also why people like music.
According to a study, sedative music was shown to be better than stimulative music when it comes to the impact on cognitive performance. The control group who didn't listen to any music in the study performed better than both groups.
According to a study, music that evokes memories and emotions can impair your cognitive functions, as less resources might be available to your brain to study well. See also how to prevent distraction while studying.
According to a study, pop music lowers cognitive performance and thus makes it hard for students to store, recall or understand pieces of information.
According to a study, pop music reduced the performance of both extroverts and introverts but the effect was much bigger for introverts. See also why some people are extroverts.
The lyrics of a song, especially if the person likes the song, can hinder language processing, as it becomes harder for the brain to focus on two pieces of text at the same time.
According to a study, the type of music played determines the impact it will have. In that study, the performance of children in a memory test was improved when calming and relaxing music was played.
According to a study, soft music was found to be less distracting than loud music. In both cases, however, music created some kind of distraction. See also effective study techniques.
According to a study, the higher the intensity of the music, the lower the cognitive performance of the person. As the music becomes more intense, the person becomes more distracted.
A study has found that when a person listens to music that he likes before studying, his performance is likely to be better because the music he likes will put him in a good mood.
Listening to soothing or relaxing music has the least impact on performance. Some suggest that cognitive performance can be increased when soothing music is played, while others suggest that the performance will still be impacted but not that much.
Some studies suggested that the impact of music depends on personality. People who get distracted easily, for example, usually get more distracted if they listen to music while studying.