Behavioral and Psychological Effects of Music on Endurance Exercise

Abstract

Exercise reduces risk factors for morbidity and mortality, but adherence to exercise regimens is low. Music may influence psychological factors (e.g., enjoyment) that improve exercise performance (e.g., duration) and ultimately leads to greater adherence. PURPOSE: To examine the behavioral and psychological outcomes of endurance exercise while listening to different kinds of music. METHODS: Nine participants (N=9; 5 females; M age = 24.7±5.8 yrs) performed treadmill running at a self-selected intensity and pace (speed, grade), ending their exercise bout whenever they chose to. Participants exercised in three music conditions on different days: participant-selected (preferred) music (pM); quiet classical music (cM); and no music (qM). Heart Rate (HR; Polar monitor) was assessed throughout each condition; affect was assessed pre-, immediately-post, and 10-min post-exercise; enjoyment (PACES) was assessed post-exercise; and Feeling Scale (FS), Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), and Arousal Scale (AS) were assessed during exercise. RESULTS: Enjoyment was significantly greater (P=0.014) following pM (M=106.0), but was not different between cM (M=86.0) and qM (M=84.7). Duration was significantly longer (P=0.018) in pM (M=37.1 min) but was not different between cM (M=33.0 min) and qM (M=31.3 min). HR during exercise was not significantly different across the 3 conditions (HR at end exercise = 85% age-predicted maximum). RPE was significantly greater in pM compared to cM (P=0.017), but was not different than qM. RPE, FS, and HR were all unrelated to enjoyment or exercise duration. Finally, Energy significantly increased, while Tiredness and Calmness significantly decreased pre-to immediately-post exercise, with no effect of music condition on these affective responses. CONCLUSION: Listening to one's preferred kind of music results in longer duration exercise that is more enjoyable than either listening to classical music or not having any music at all. While this does not appear to be related to the affect experienced during the exercise, the exact mechanism(s) for this effect remains to be elucidated.