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Help optimize your child's brain using music by Lynn Reifert and Nancy Clarke |
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Who has never said these words to their child in frustration, "Why don't you just use your brain?"
But, did you know that you could be proactive in helping your child learn how to maximize his ability to use his brain? By finding ways to affect how the brain thinks best, and under what conditions, you could be even more instrumental in improving your child's future academic success. David Lewis and James Greene, M.A., in their book "Thinking Better" tell us that our brains have the potential for brilliance and can attain almost any intellectual goal set. They say that the popular notion that mental ability depends on certain structures inside the brain determined by inheritance is misleading. The real cause of intellectual success and failure is the way in which thinking occurs. Furthermore, they state that we are never taught how to think, only what to think. We are expected to learn a whole range of things from the first days of formal education, yet are never provided with lessons in how to learn. Because of this we tend to use our minds in an unsystematic and ineffective manner. In their interesting book Lewis and Greene teach readers how to think clearly, how different types of learners of all ages can be most successful, how to solve problems and how to make decisions. To create the best condition for effective learning, consider adding good music to your child's study time to stimulate his brain and prepare him to absorb and retain information. Researchers know that listening to music, especially that which is complex in structure, facilitates certain complex neuronal patterns in high-brain activities like math and chess. In a test conducted over a five-day time period, people were asked to look at 16 abstract figures projected on an overhead screen for one minute each. These were similar to folded pieces of paper. The test looked at the ability to tell how the figures would look unfolded. Test subjects in three groups listened to different types of music while performing the task. One group listened to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos. The second listened to music by Philip Glass, an audiotaped story and a dance piece, while a third group worked in silence. Results were that all three groups improved their scores from day two. However, the group that listened to Mozart improved 62 percent compared to 14 percent for the silence group and 11 percent for the others. As the testing continued, the Mozart group kept bettering their scores, but the other groups did not. Researchers proposed that listening to Mozart strengthened the creative right-brain processing center concerned with spatial reasoning. In his book "The Mozart Effect," Don Campbell said that Mozart's violin concertos, especially Nos. 3 and 4, produce even stronger positive effects on learning. Because the temporal lobes of the brain are involved in processing music and memory, certain music may activate this part of the brain, opening pathways into the mind. In another study conducted on the effects of music, with ADD students as subjects, biofeedback sessions showed a reduction of theta wave activity (slow brain waves that are often excessive in ADD). During training, brain rhythms matched the beat of the music, which in turn resulted in better focus and mood control, diminished impulsiveness and improved social skills. The benefits lasted for six months with no additional training. Some children highly sensitive to auditory input may have difficulty studying with any background sound. This is why it is essential that you observe your child's behavior while he is studying with music. Encourage him to try with quiet music for at least a week. If he is still resistant, you may want to try playing the music during dinner, prior to his homework sessions. Most of us do not need scientific studies to tell us how different types of music affect our emotions, which in turn affect us physiologically. How many of us adults listen to music in the car on the way home from work to soothe the tensions created by a stressful day? A common term used to describe a time when one cannot think is "brain freeze." If music thaws the stressed brain by balancing brain waves, it seems it may at a minimum be of some benefit to a child who is struggling with, for example, difficult homework problems. In addition, listening to a particular CD -- whether Mozart or favorite classical guitar selections -- while studying for a test may help jog your child's memory during test-taking. While taking a test, "hearing" the music in his head may help him recall a concept he was reviewing while listening to the same music when studying. Listening to classical music can improve the functions controlled by the temporal lobes of the brain, thereby making the brain more receptive to learning. On the other hand, studies show that certain music can be destructive. Music that is filled with messages of hate and destruction encourages that state of mind. Classical music promotes learning. Heavy metal does not. Following are some common sense reminders of how to help optimize your child's brain functioning. They come from research conducted by Dr. Daniel Amen, as well as that of many other neuroscientists. Encourage your children to: Discourage your child from: bungee jumping, engaging in any high-risk activities without wearing a helmet, watching too much TV or playing video games for more than 30 minutes a day. © 2002 Lynn Reifert and Nancy Clarke. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. |
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Lynn Reifert and Nancy Clarke are owners/instructors at The Study Center Inc., in Venice, Florida. Parents, grandparents and teachers may send questions and comments about education to the center at thestudycenter@teacher.com Letters may be sent to The Study Center Inc., 1501 South Tamiami Trail, Suite 501, Venice, FL 34292. The center's Web site is: www.thestudycenter.net | ||
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