PARENTS need not nag their child to turn off their music while studying, because the chances are they will do so anyway, research found today. Researchers at the Institute of Education, University of London, have found that while teenagers may spend hours listening to mp3 players, most are willing to switch it off if it interferes with their school work. The study surveyed 600 young people in the UK, the US, Greece and Japan, asking students in three age groups - 12 years old, 16-18 years old and 20 years old - about their listening habits. They were asked if they played music while revising for exams, writing, memorising texts, reading, doing coursework, solving problems, thinking or learning a foreign language, as well as about the effects that music had on their studying and why they decided to listen to music or work in silence. The researchers found that many said they played music to relax, alleviate boredom and to help concentration, while most said they turned off the music if they felt that it was interfering with their concentration. The study, due to be published in a forthcoming issue of Educational Studies, says: 'There are indications that, overall, students do not play music while studying extensively and that they rarely play music while revising for examinations, memorising material or learning a foreign language and most often play music when thinking or writing. 'This suggests that they are aware that their performance on some tasks will be impaired, namely those where the cognitive processes involved are shared with those involved in the processing of music. And it suggests parents do not need to warn their child about their listening habits. It says: 'Across all age groups, there was disagreement that they turned music off when someone suggested that they should. 'This suggests that parents attempts to prevent music being played while their offspring are studying are likely to be unproductive. Daily Mail