IMPACT OF MUSIC AS MOTIVATION TO PERFORM EXERCISES AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS – A SURVEY

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine the association between music and motivation to do exercise among university students in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The demographics data, use of music during exercise, preferred type of music, and criteria to select music were assessed by a validated self-administered questionnaire. The motivation towards exercises was evaluated using the Behavioural Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3) while the level of physical activity was assessed by Godin-Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ). The demographics information, use of music during exercise, preferred type of music, and criteria to choose music were tabulated using descriptive statistics. A point-biserial correlation was used to analyze the relationship between music and motivation to do exercise while chi-square was utilized to determine the association between the use of music during exercise and physical activity level. The results of the current study showed that 80.3% of the participants listen to music during exercise. Energetic and rhythmic was the preferred type of music for exercise. Tempo/ speed/ bpm was the most popular factor to be considered during the exercise. Most of the participants prefer to listen to an individual music player during exercise rather than an open audio system.. Listening to music during exercise shown significant correlation with a motivation (p=0.006), external regulation (p=0.014), identified regulation (p=0.006), integrated regulation (p=0.002) and intrinsic regulation (p=0.015). There was a significant association between the use of music during exercise and physical activity level (p=0.003) in this study. Future research that involves the type of exercise performed with the music is encouraged to explore the significance of music as a motivational tool in exercise.