For years we have had to find new ways to help us study. Some prefer a library setting where even a whisper is forbidden while others need the constant chatter and company of others to get anything done.

“I hate studying in the library. It’s too quiet and it freaks me out,” said senior education major Nicholas Lopez.

“I’m a nursing major and I have to be somewhere that won’t break my concentration too much. I need complete silence to do anything, I mean having a friend to study with is fine, but if they get too chatty I get irritated.” Said Junior Sasha Gay Scott.

But what about the use of smaller distractions to help us stay focused like music? While the human brain is still very much an undiscovered part of our body, scientists have found some clues to how our brains act while we are listening to music.

One study that was done by Daniel Levitin a psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music found that by plugging in your headphones you are giving yourself a healthy dose of anti-stress relief, helping get rid of any anxiety that you might have been feeling before. Levitin tested this on a large group of patients that were about to go into surgery, half of them were given anti-anxiety drugs while the others listened to music. Those who listened to music had less anxiety and even lower cortisol than those who took the medication.

Levitin also found how music controls different areas of the brain an some of the chemicals that are released into them. For instance, music helps to release dopamine which increases attention in the frontal lobes as well as in the limbic system which is associated to pleasure.

So how does all of this tie into our use of music while studying?

Music can help release natural chemicals into our brains to help us focus as well as keep us from getting distracted by outside distractions. And it doesn’t matter what specific type of music that you listen to as long as it is kept to a reasonable sound level.

“I think that I have always worked better when I have had music playing but I’ve never really made the connection to it as a study helper before”. Said sophomore communications major Jessica Vazquez. “But knowing that now I’ll definitely use it more often.”

So before you go reaching for that extra large caffeinated drink to accompany you to your favorite study hole, try putting on your favorite tune to keep the brain awake.