Music, Studying, and Stress

The two weeks of AP testing are some of the most stressful, in my opinion. When I'm stressed, I like to listen to music because it is calming and makes me forget all of the studying and reading and essay-writing I need to do. Other times, I put it on as background noise when I study, because silence makes me anxious. In a recent article I read, I learned that there were a few different types of music to help reduce stress and encourage studying. One: singing and/or loud, upbeat music. This is the more obvious way of releasing stress and aiding in focus, because it is energetic and makes you want to dance. It keeps you alert when you are doing a task, and is especially helpful for when you don't go to bed until 2 A.M. because you need to finish that English essay you'd been putting off until the last day. Two: "Meditative" Music. I call this "meditative" because it is more calming and relaxing. Normally there's no obvious beat, and you can think of it as any non-upbeat music, for stress-relieving purposes. A lot of times, this type of music is set up in correlation to nature sounds, like rain or thunder. Both of these types of music are effective, depending on what you are studying, when, how long, and your taste in music. For me, I use both. For the subjects that bore me, I listen to upbeat music because it prevents me from being bored, but for subjects I like, I'll normally listen to nature sounds or more relaxing music.

Good luck on the rest of your APs!