Do you listen to music when you’re studying or trying to get other difficult work done? According to Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist, author of This Is Your Brain on Music, and featured expert in this article, music is an aid to productivity only when doing work that’s repetitive, like driving a truck or working in a factory. Otherwise, repeated studies have shown that music, especially lyrics, can wreak havoc on cognitive performance.
So why do so many people insist on listening to music while they work or study? As the article says, “We like it, and we can’t tell it’s messing us up.”