Med student shares unconventional study tip using music to focus better while studying

Maintaining focus for extended periods can be a challenging task, especially for students with busy schedules. Students often try to come up with hacks and ways to work their way around studying for longer hours. Claire Jean—who goes by @itsclairejean on TikTok—a second-year medical school student who shares "premed secrets," recently shared an unconventional study tactic that she claims has been a game-changer for her and others who spend a lot of time online.

Jean introduced her unique approach to staying focused during study sessions in a video. She acknowledged that it might not work for everyone but emphasized its effectiveness for those who are "chronically online" like her. She explained her approach, saying, "I started to notice how on TikTok there were certain sounds that I just couldn’t get out of my head and it would just repeat over and over again, and I started to think, ‘Hey, I could use this to my advantage.'" She added, "I just play that song over and over again. Usually, I do a different song every day, but sometimes the song bleeds into the next day. It just becomes background noise and it just gets you in the zone."

Jean urged her viewers to give it a try, stating, "Just try it before you think I’m crazy, because I’ve had some friends try it and they love it." Interestingly, her tip has struck a chord with TikTok users, many of whom have expressed their support and shared their own experiences with this unique method of studying. @chelseajeanx, elaborated on the importance of selecting a song with familiar lyrics, stating, "Oh yeah. It has to be music I really know the lyrics to so they wash over my brain, and I don’t need to pay attention to them." @calexens couldn't believe that this method was considered unconventional, exclaiming, "So you’re telling me not everyone does this."

The science behind this unique study technique is intriguing. Psychologist Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis's book, "On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind," delves into the science of listening to music on loop and its impact on focus. Margulis explains, "Repetition makes it possible for us to experience a sense of the expanded present, characterized not by the explicit knowledge that x will occur at time point y, but rather a déjà-vu-like sense of orientation and involvement." In simpler terms, when you listen to a song on repeat, you become deeply absorbed in the music, blocking out distractions and mind wandering. This absorption can enhance your focus and productivity, making it an effective study technique.

Jean's TikTok video discussing this productivity hack garnered significant attention and went viral. In her follow-up video posted on September 18, she reflected on the popularity of her unconventional study tip. She likened the experience of listening to the same song on repeat to the feeling of pretending to be in a music video as a child, gazing out the window. It's a sentiment many can relate to and it emphasizes the immersive and productive nature of this study technique.