How Does Music Help Us Exercise?

Sharon Moore June 21, 2013

If you’re like most people, you probably love to tuck earphones to your ear and listen to your favourite workout tunes while you exercise. Listening to workout music is not just a fad. For most of us, it is a tool necessary to improve our performance.

What’s the psychology behind workout music?

Music has been a subject of numerous studies for the past decades. It has been constantly linked to better mood and concentration, and reduced anxiety levels. A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry suggests that music therapy, when combined with standard treatment, is a successful treatment for depression.

But what has music got to do with exercise? The answer lies on our brain. A 2004 study published in the journal Neuropsychologia compared the benefits of mental training-induced strength gains with the actual training of the muscle that does the movement. Whilst they are not as profound, the benefits of imagining making the movement produce significant gains which account for over half of the benefit of practice.

To get a deeper understanding of imaginary practice and actual performance and the role of music, let’s take a look in the inside of the human brain, focusing on areas that are involved in these cognitive tasks. Imaginary practice basically strengthens the signals that direct the brain to move muscles. These signals are from the motor cortex. A part of the motor cortex, the so-called supplementary motor cortex, does a very important role during exercise – it sets the timing for actions. In every type of exercise or sport game for instance, strength and speed aren’t the only things that matter. Ask any athlete and they will tell you that timing is as important.

It’s where music comes in. The main benefit of music in exercising is that it helps the brain decide when and how to act. As the rhythm travels through the ears to the auditory pathways to the supplementary motor area, it aids the signalling activity that helps the brain decide when to move.

Music as Motivation

Another reason why music makes exercising much better is because it distracts us from pain and fatigue by elevating our mood. It’s like ‘relaxing’ in the middle of an intense physical activity. According to Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London, when listening to music, people run farther, bike longer and swim faster than usual-often without realizing it. In his study, listening to music resulted to 15 per cent improvement in endurance.

A 2012 study by Sheffield Hallam University found that people who cycled in time to music needed 7 per cent less oxygen than the other cyclists. The researchers explained that the syncing of movements to music might help the body use energy more efficiently, allowing cyclists to maintain a steady pace and reduce false steps.

But it is not enough that you listen to music to reap its benefits on your workout. Your playlist should contain songs that for you are ‘motivational’. For many, upbeat tunes help them establish a rhythm easier. How about you? What kinds of music get you motivated to move?