In recent years, more and more people are enjoying sports while listening to music.

Many media outlets have reported on world-famous Japanese athletes listening to their favorite music before competitions to improve their concentration.

On a more familiar level, you've probably seen more people wearing earphones while running.

It is said that listening to music while exercising can also have a psychological effect.

In this article, we will explain how music affects performance during exercise and introduce exercises for which music is effective.

Please feel free to use this as a reference.

3 benefits of listening to music while exercising

Research has shown that listening to music while exercising has multiple benefits.
Let us introduce three of these effects.

Reduces pain and makes you feel good after exercise

Research has shown that listening to music during aerobic exercise reduces fatigue and discomfort, even at the same exercise intensity.

There is a limit to the amount of information humans can perceive, but by stimulating the auditory system with music, it is possible to dull the perception of pain during exercise.

It has also been found to have many psychological benefits, such as making you feel more enjoyable even after exercise.

On the other hand, if you block out outside information by using earplugs or blindfolds while exercising, your attention will be focused only on the pain, making you more likely to feel tired, so be careful.

Songs between 120 and 140 BPM are effective for improving performance

Some believe that listening to music while exercising can improve performance in sports that are played at a constant tempo.

In sports such as cycling and running, disruptions to pace and unnecessary movements are major factors that can lower your record, but by matching your movements to the tempo of the music, you can naturally maintain a consistent pace and reduce unnecessary movements.

Music that is suitable for this type of sustained exercise is music with a tempo of about 120 to 140 beats per minute, which would feel normal or slightly fast.

Music suppresses cortisol, the enemy of muscles

When you engage in high-intensity exercise, such as strength training, two hormones called testosterone and cortisol are secreted.

Testosterone is a male hormone also known as the popular hormone. It has the effect of forming muscles and bones, and is a hormone that both men and women who are active in exercise want to increase.

However, if the amount of cortisol secreted by stress increases too much, it suppresses testosterone and breaks down muscle.

Although it is an essential hormone for the body, it can also lead to illness.

Music is said to have the effect of suppressing the secretion of these two hormones.

Although it does decrease testosterone, the benefits of suppressing cortisol outweigh the effects, so listening to music may be a reasonable option if you want to build muscle.

The type of exercise that music works best for is aerobic exercise!

The effect of music during exercise varies depending on the type of exercise. It can be said that music has a better effect on aerobic exercise.

Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that is done continuously for a long period of time, such as walking, jogging, and cycling.

These require a consistent rhythm and pace, so they go well with music.

Also, for relaxing exercises such as yoga or stretching, songs with a slow tempo would be suitable.

There seem to be many specialized studios that play healing music that has a relaxing effect.

It's important to find an exercise method that suits you

Many gyms and studios incorporate music.

Perhaps it's not just for the purpose of invigorating the game, but also to improve performance.

Of course, the music that suits you and the effects you feel will vary depending on the sport and the person.

Why not use this article as a reference to find the method that suits you best?