Listening to music while doing homework or studying is extremely common among students of today’s digital technology era. At first, many were concerned that it was just as distracting as having the television on while doing homework or studying. However, over time, studies have shown that music may actually aid someone in helping them remember certain material-- academics included.

Music has the power to stir up emotions and create personal connections between the listeners and the songs being played. In an article written about a recent study performed by Neuro-Insight, the study revealed that music does, in fact, help one instill content into their long-term memory. The study focuses on comparing Pandora Radio advertisement effectiveness to typical radio station channel advertisement. The results of the study revealed that advertisements on Pandora advertisements had a 49% higher impact on listeners than radio advertisements.

What possible logic could explain this correlation? For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pandora radio, it allows listeners to select a genre or artist’s “radio station” and serves up music in which the listener would be interested in-- most likely due to an algorithm of some sort. With this data, they also serve ads that are more relevant to the listener, practically guaranteeing their audience’s interest. It is because Pandora allows for a more personalized listening experience, that listeners are more engaged and willing to listen to all content that is presented to them. Although radio stations tend to cater to specific target audiences, their listening experience is a lot less personalized than Pandora’s.

This is not to say that radio advertisements are ineffective. Remember the last time your favorite song played on the radio and the radio’s jingle came on immediately after? (For me, it would be “101.7 KKIQ, light rock, less talk, the Bay’s #1 hit station for music from the 90’s, 2000’s, and today ”). And now that radio jingle-slogan is something that you’ll seem to know for the rest of your life. It is possible to blame the repetitiveness for the number of times you’ve heard the phrase. However, it’s most likely due to the fact that your attention was already invested in and captivated by your favorite song, which was playing just seconds before.

So think about the last time you were studying to your favorite artist’s latest album while studying for your upcoming Econ test, did you do better? And if you haven’t tried it yet or are skeptical of this theory, give it a go and try it out yourself. Listening to your favorite music while studying can increase feelings of motivation, awareness, and even interest; prolonging your attention span for the hours you spend studying for your next exam. Music is the way to the heart, and apparently the brain too.