Some TikTok Users are Convinced That the Mario Kart Soundtrack Helps Them Do Homework Faster

When studying or working, the right playlist can really help move things along, or at least that’s what some people believe even though real research in this area is quite inconclusive. But now, some students are claiming that the Mario Kart soundtrack is helping them complete their homework faster and are calling it a “productivity boosting tip”. 

A TikTok video that recently went viral shows how effective the track “Invincibility Star” is. The video posted by @daniellev98 said, "My stress levels went [up] but so did my word count.”

The particular song plays when you use an “Invincibility star” in Mario Kart. The person playing the game is meant to make the most of it by running as fast as they can, which is very similar to students staying up all night to complete an assignment or an essay as fast as they can and, many might say, equally stressful. The tense, fast-paced music apparently helps students write faster, they claim. 

According to chart data, Mario Kart music has seen a surge on platforms like Spotify but none of the uploads on any site are Nintendo-official.

A bunch of students took to Twitter to share their experience and how they completed their assignments last minute by listening to that particular soundtrack. 

While this might seem like a misplaced, far-fetched correlation, this method of listening to music and being able to do something faster actually has some scientific backing. According to a study conducted by a psychologist in partnership with Spotify, budding mathematicians should introduce classical music to their playlist because it can calm you and make you more attentive. But for those studying literature or humanities, Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake are worth downloading. “Listening to music with 50-80 beats per minute such as ‘We Can’t Stop’ by Miley Cyrus and ‘Mirrors’ by Justin Timberlake has a calming effect on the mind that is conducive to logical thought, allowing the brain to learn and remember new facts,” the study said.

But not all music is made equal. Studies on background music while working have shown that music with lyrics reduce our mental performance at work, whilst instrumental music could boost our productivity.

So, being motivated by the Mario Kart soundtrack is not really an implausible idea even though we have no idea if for those who claimed the soundtrack helps, faster also means better.

But obviously, like any viral trend, this one has its fair share of detractors. Some students took to Twitter to complain about how this strategy was actually not effective and that they ended up wasting their time. 

One of the tweets read, “I can confirm that listening to mario kart music while doing an essay does NOT work.”

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