The Impact of Classical Music on Cognitive Performance under Mental Fatigue Conditions

Abstract

Background: Mental fatigue and sleepiness are important factors decreasing the mental and cognitive performance of individuals and contributing to the occurrence of human error. These factors also negatively affect learning and cognitive performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of classical music on the cognitive performance of individuals after mental fatigue. Materials and methods: In this interventional study, 36 students (19 women and 17 men) aged 19- 23 years were selected. The cognitive Vienna Test System (VTS) was used to evaluate the spatial memory, perception, and perception of flicker fusion in three time points: before mathematical calculations, after mathematical calculations (1.5 hours), and after mathematical calculations under music conditions (0.5 hours). Results: The mean age of the participants was 20.41±0.73 years. According to the results of the flicker perception test, there was no significant difference between the first, second, and third stages of the test (P = 0.137). On the Wechsler short-term memory test, there was no significant difference between the number of correct responses among the three stages (P = 0.473). During the entire duration of the Stroop test (in both steps of Naming and Reading), there was a significant difference between the second and third stages (P = 0.037). Furthermore, the mean total duration of the Stroop test in the first, second, and third stages was 13.83±42.23, 23.03±38.59, and 29.062 ±40.58, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that music does not affect the variables of flicker perception and spatial work memory after fatigue, but affects the selective attention variable after fatigue. Further studies are required to better clarify these findings