Getting into the right headspace to buckle down and study for upcoming finals, I have always turned to music. But finding the right playlist or genre is always a roadblock and an easy way to procrastinate. I will stop my studying to take half an hour to make the perfect playlist and then lose all motivation to study. This seemed to be an unbreakable pattern until one day I saw a TikTok about how 154 bpm music can help people who are neurodivergent focus better. Being neurodivergent myself, that was enough for me, and I immediately turned to Spotify to find myself a playlist. I did find that faster paced music helped to cancel out some of the circling thoughts and key me into the tasks I was working on.
Besides TikTok, there are more credible sources that support the use of music that has a higher tempo. One study quotes that the use of higher music tempo increases the foot traffic in grocery stores and the gross sales volume. In complicated decision-making tasks, it was also found that the decision accuracy was higher when music with a higher bpm was played. Music also stimulates the parts of your brain that produce dopamine (something that can be scarce during finals season) and are responsible for memory storage and recall. Because music interacts with so much of our brain, it can strengthen neural pathways helping with well being and learning. All of this just goes to show what a powerful tool music can be.
So if 154 bpm music can help a spicy brained, easily distracted engineer like myself, you might as well give it a try. This bpm is not necessarily created by loud guitars or screaming singers but by the backbeat to songs. And although I do enjoy music that screams at me, music with this bpm ranges in all genres and styles so you are bound to find something that scratches your itch. I have specially curated a playlist with a variety of songs that have this magic tempo. Hopefully these can help me and you keep on track this finals season. Happy studying and rock on.
