Have a late-night study session ahead? Listening to music like Vivaldi, Brahms, or Bach might help you combat stress and boost your mental alertness.

Academic studies over the years have shown that listening to classical music may help lower stress, increase mental engagement, and can even help improve sleep patterns – all helpful during the crunch time of finals season. Students can turn to this helpful, healthy study aid for free from Austin's local classical music station.

Stress Relief

Relaxation and stress relief are two of the most cited reasons people listen to classical music. A 2007 study shows that listening to classical music “should result in significant reductions in anxiety…and increased relaxation” when compared to people who sat in silence or listened to heavy metal music.

Increase Concentration

A 2013 study done by Northumbria University psychologist Leigh Riby had participants listen to Vivaldi's “Four Seasons” while performing concentration tasks. The data revealed that the music “had the ability to enhance mental alertness and brain measures of attention and memory.”

Catch Your Zzz's

If you’re having trouble sleeping with the stress of tests and papers looming, classical music can help you fall asleep. A team of researchers showed that in students ages 19-28, listening to 45 minutes of classical music before bed, especially pieces like Brahm’s “Lullaby,” helped with their sleep troubles.

Host Carmel O'Donovan has classics to increase focus on Night Music, every night from 10 p.m. to Midnight, with a particular focus on study music from May 11-19. For longer study sessions, the dreamy, eclectic, Reverie (which has very little talk) airs right after Night Music, from 12 – 2 a.m. 

Photo credits:
Computer | Alejandro Escamilla unsplash.com
Book | Alejandro Escamilla unsplash.com