We kinda prefer something running in the background while doing our job or busy with studies. When it’s a podcast or TV series, there’s a risk that you’ll focus on it more than on doing your assignments. Even if you’re watching a movie you’ve seen a hundred times before, you can suddenly see something new in that scene or realize that you can analyze the plot from a different angle. Not something that can really distract you from writing an essay.

A bigger risk if you’re listening to a song that is related to some particular moment in your life. Something that brings emotional memories. But, hey, you can easily kick those songs out of your playlist prior to starting your work on an essay. So, ain’t no distraction.

In the end, it’s better to order your paper from an essay writing service and focus on the film or podcast. Things are different with music. Unless you’re not listening to concept or rock opera albums, which demand a certain focus on the plot, you can write your essay while the music is playing in the background. What are the risks, after all?

• Humming the melody
• Singing along
• Shaking a bit to the beat of the song

And yet, we’re talking about distractions. But can music really help with writing an essay? Certain studies claim that music is ideal for performing routine and monotonous assignments. Essay writing hardly fits those traits. So, how can listening to music be beneficial to it? Let’s figure it out.

Putting You In a Mood

The most important thing about listening to music when writing an essay is that it sets you in a certain mood. Some songs put you in a good mood, while others put you in a bad one. And there are songs that can put you in a productive mood. For example, the research conducted by the University of Maryland in Baltimore in 2009 proved that listening to classical music while performing writing assignments increases creativity.

You may think that when it comes to research, it’s always going to end up with classical or jazz music. That’s bad news if you’re not a jazz fan or, like post-Ludovico technique Alex DeLarge, can’t stand Beethoven. But the research published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2012 showed that listening to ambient music while writing increases productivity.

But research doesn’t require taking them at face value. After all, everything depends on individual tastes. If listening to electronic dance music or experimental records by artists like Diamanda Galàs or Arca helps you finish your writing assignments, then disregard the research. The most important thing is that the music that you’re listening to won’t distract you from your work.

To avoid distraction from what you’re writing, some studies suggest listening to songs in a foreign language, which you don’t understand, to prevent yourself from singing along to them. However, that’s not the best practice. You may get curious about what those songs are about, and study the lyrics’ translation, instead of focusing on your essay.

Relieving the Stress

Music is known for its therapeutic effect. After all, whenever you feel bad, you can listen to some of your favorite songs that will instantly make you feel better. When you’re working on some difficult writing assignment, you may feel stressed. The stress surely prevents you from doing your work properly. The song can help you go through the writing process easily.

Familiar songs have a soothing effect. Listening to them allows reducing and even removing stress. A favorite song playing in the background can improve your mood and help you to concentrate on the task. Moreover, despite the fact that various studies claim that music rarely helps to memorize study materials, associating a certain moment of study can aid in memorizing the material.

But you should mind that you mustn’t rely only on your favorite songs. If you prefer upbeat songs, they may not work the best to relieve stress. Basically, if they don’t work for you, try something different. There’s surely an album of your favorite artist that you’ve avoided because the songs on it are too slow. Maybe it’s time to check the album out? Who knows, it will possibly help you finish your essay.

The Downsides of Listening to Music While Writing

Unfortunately, listening to music doesn’t always help you to do your writing assignment properly. You may end up listening to three-hour-long albums before realizing that you never moved past the title of your paper. After all, not all people are able to do several things successfully at once. Sometimes, listening to music while writing an essay is the same as chatting with someone while trying to remember the list of things your partner asked you to buy at the store.

You see, when you’re trying to do two or more things simultaneously, the brain burns glucose faster. This leads to the release of cortisol, the stress hormone, which rarely contributes to maintaining equal attention to both actions that you’re making. But, if you’re good at making two things at once, then listening to music will only contribute to your writing process.

In brief, if we take all the conflicting study results, the conclusion is simple — listening to music can get you more creative and more productive, but it’s not the best thing to stay focused on your stuff. Still, pieces of music with no lyrics running in the background at low volume can have a beneficial effect.

Final Thoughts

If we are to believe the studies, you should listen to pieces of classical or jazz music while writing your essay. Another option is to listen to pop songs in a language that you don’t know. And don’t forget about ambient music. The most important thing is that it should run in the background at low volume.

However, things work differently for different people. If you find it comforting listening to your favorite music, which doesn’t fit any of the categories listed above, while writing an essay, there’s no reason for you to kick that habit. But if you find that such a method has stopped working for you, and you’re struggling with the writing process because of the music, try finishing your essay in complete silence.