The effect of music on sleeping, studying

DEAR DR. ROACH: For teens, does wearing headphones with music playing while sleeping affect the quality of their sleep? Also, does listening to music while studying impact the quality of studying? -- S.W.

ANSWER: The effect of music on sleep has been studied several times, but most studies have looked at classical or soothing music.

In most of the trials I read, music at bedtime improved the quality and duration of sleep. If your teens are anything like my teens were, however, classical or soft music is unlikely to be their choice. Also, the trials did not examine the effect of headphones, which may alter the different head positions people use when falling asleep.

As far as the studying question goes, there clearly are differences among people. However, in several studies that included school-aged children, adolescents and young adults, studying in silence led to better reading comprehension compared with a noisy room, highly arousing music (such as heavy metal) or less arousing music (pop vocal music). However, those listening to “low arousal” music had better scores than those listening to noise. People listening to highly arousing music scored worst in reading comprehension and reaction time.

Many people feel they study best with music. Some researchers have found that music that is well-known and doesn’t demand much attention is least likely to interfere with learning.