He smiles as he turns the volume up. Laying back on his bed, he lets the music engulf him. As the music plays softly through his earbuds, he sinks into his blankets and falls asleep.

According to musically.com, 87 percent of teenagers listen to music every day, and music can be very beneficial to students.

“Honestly, I listen to a little bit of everything, It just depends on what I’m doing,” senior Carysn Watts said. “If I’m doing homework, country music calms me down. Then, if I’m with my friends [I listen to] today’s hits and pop, it just depends on my mood.”

Freshman Braxon Garcia decided to pick up the guitar over the summer because his uncle received one.

“He [my uncle] recommended me all these bands from classic rock, and that’s what really started my love for that kind of music,” Garcia said.

According to a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) article, music training alters the course of auditory development.

“Music training initiated as late as adolescence can enhance neural processing of sound and confer benefits for language skills,” PNAS said. “These results establish the potential for experience-driven brain plasticity during adolescence and demonstrate that in-school programs can engender these changes.”

Garcia states that he could not live without music.

“It’s [music is] that kinda thing that’s already become a part of me, and I can’t get rid of it,” Garcia said.