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Alpha music decreases- hyperactivity in kids
Added: (Wed Aug 24 2005)
"All that can be said with any certainty is that challenging behaviour in school has a history as long as mass education itself." Furlong (1985)*
Alpha Music - Music to the ears of teachers and pupils
John Levine's 'alpha-music' has been the subject of a research project by Cambridge graduate Rob Bridgman - investigating the impact it may have on hyperactive and disruptive behaviour in schools.
The two and a half week study focused on a group of ten comprehensive school boys aged 12-13, all identified as having behavioural and attention deficit problems.**
The research was carried out in four different classrooms where seating arrangements were different. A Digital camcorder was used to record behaviour. The first five lessons were observed without music. In the following five, John's 'Silence of Peace' CD was played in the background. The pupils were also given tests and questionnaires with and without John's music.
The investigation concluded lessons accompanied by 'Silence of Peace' showed significantly fewer instances of off-task activity.***
Off-task activity fell by an average of 664 instances, a decrease of 20.5%.
In particular: Average impulsiveness without music - 244.4/ Average with music 69.4
Average hyperactivity without music 177.6/ with music 95.8
Average talking without music 460/ with music 58.6
The research concluded that alpha-music helped reduce boredom and to keep the children engaged;
"There was a positive change in the behaviour of the children which was
almost certainly brought about by the use of John Levine's music in the background. The pupils
seemed calmer and more focused which created an atmosphere more conducive
to academic work."
Editors Notes
John Levine is an Australian-born composer now residing in Cambridge, UK. John has spent the last three years composing and developing 'alpha-music' - transforming the lives of everyone from exhausted mothers and hyperactive children to the sufferers of ME, fatigue and stress. John is widely respected on an international level and has appeared on Australian television and on many UK radio shows in addition to European editions of glossies. John's music is currently being used in schools and nurseries throughout Cambridge with beneficial results being reaped.
What is 'alpha-music'? Hans Berger, an Austrian doctor, first discovered alpha waves whilst researching brain activity in 1908. The arrhythmic, wordlessness of John's 'alpha-music' encourages the brain to produce alpha waves, a slower, more relaxed frequency than the beta waves our brain regularly produces.
John explains that an alpha brainwave state "promotes the immune system and good working of the body" thus enabling a "relaxed state of concentration."
For further information, interviews or case studies please contact Sarah @ Honey PR, T: 01223241770 M: 0777947558 email: sarah@honeypr.com
* www.behaviour4learning.co.uk
**not formally diagnosed with ADHD
***off-task behaviour as activity based on DSM 1V criteria for ADHD: Inattention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness and talking