No matter who you are it is likely that you have had to study at least one point in your life. You may even be in the process of getting to study right now! Well, this article is for you, as many people like to listen to music when studying, but there are different types of music that is better than others.

Being in the zone is important when studying as it can help your memory as well as mitigating procrastination among other things. Blocking out distractions is getting increasingly difficult, especially with all this new technology that is available at our fingertips.

So, when you are studying, these are the best genres of music to listen to and tips when you’ve got music on:

Nature sounds

Start off with a slightly unusual option for studying, you probably didn’t think of this one. If you aren’t into the more traditional sounds of music, then this one is probably the way to go. Common nature sounds that are good to listen to include; rain, ocean, waterfalls or a rainforest.

This type of music can keep you more engaged with what you are working on, as well as improve your concentration. Listening to songs of nature can also help to keep you calm. In times where you are studying for a big exam, keeping calm is vital so you don’t get overwhelmed and frustrated.

Classical sounds

Classical music is probably the best genre to listen to when studying. This type of music can keep you calm and centered while you study. There have also been a number of reports to suggest that it can elevate a student’s productivity as well as their mood.

Chill out music

This type of music is also known as modern electronic. Chill out music helps you relax and get in the zone, you can start listing here. No matter where you are sourcing your music from remember that it is actually about the studying first so don’t procrastinate choosing the music for your study session.

Tip: Create a playlist

You shouldn’t study for too long without taking a break, so it can be a good idea to create a short playlist of songs and when the playlist is over you take a break. You could move onto another playlist when you return to your studies, or back to the original one.

Also, if you count the number of songs that are in the playlist, this helps to set mini goals. You can say to yourself “okay, 2 songs done only 8 more to go”. This will help you stay focused and actually get more work done. The time will go much faster when there is smaller goals set up.

If you don’t feel like creating your own playlists there are a lot of others available, could be on YouTubeor even Apple Music/ Spotify. Whatever you decide on though, make sure you take short, regular breaks.

Tip: Volume

The volume of your music when you are studying needs to be perfect. Too loud and you can be counter productive and not actually do any work. Too soft and you won’t be able to hear it, defeating the purpose of having music on in the first place.

A good volume for music should be just in the background. Also if you are studying in a public area you should definitely be using headphone. You may love the music you’ve got playing but everyone else might not! When you are alone at home having the music playing out loud is more that fine (as long as your family/ friends are okay with it!).