Music is an essential part of a great workout experience, motivating us. Keeping us on pace, promoting rhythmic movement, and even helping us avoid pain and fatigue during exercise. So what is happening in the brain the moment music is play
Professor Kostas Karagiorgis, a leading researcher on the interaction between music and exercise, believes that the right workout music can be a kind of “legitimate performance enhancer.”
Haile Gebrselassie agrees
The Ethiopian athlete who broke the 2,000m record in 1998 famously increased his pace by synchronizing his stride to the beat of Scatman John’s 1995 hit Scatman. When you hear this beat, your timing and style of running will immediately change.
Researchers Thoughts
Researchers say good music not only makes us work out faster and harder. But also makes exercise easier and more enjoyable. Mr. Karagiorgis has extensively researched the psychological and physiological effects of music and exercise. He has found that music that matches the tempo of exercise (synchronized music) is the key to not only enjoying exercise, but also increasing motivation and achieving results. I discovered that. This kind of music has the following effects:
Reduces fatigue by 12 %
Increase exercise effectiveness by 15 %
Increase exercise efficiency by 7 %
Increases endurance by 15 %
What happens in your brain when you exercise while listening to music?
Scientists have long known that there is a direct connection between the brain’s auditory neurons and motor neurons. Even if you stay still, listening to your favorite music increases activity in various areas of your brain. Some researchers argue that this instinct to move to music is due to “neural crosstalk.”
According to Dr. Bryony L. Ross
A British-based scientist, when music is played. The hypothalamus (the part of the brain that controls hormone secretion and emotions) and the brainstem (the part that controls heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and muscle tension) It seems to be stimulated.
Brain imaging shows that when you listen to pleasurable music, parts of the brain associated with reward, motivation, emotion, and memory become active, releasing hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. These hormones make you feel joyful, happy, happy, and loved, which can lift your mood during a workout and literally leave you wanting more. Conversely, listening to music that makes you feel sad or associated with negative experiences can make you feel unhappy or even sad. As a result, levels of the stress hormone cortisone increase, making you feel like walking away.
Dr. Marcelo Bigliassi from the University of São Paulo in Brazil
He has spent the past decade studying how our neural networks respond to movement and music and influence our behavior. He found that the combination of movement and music rearranges the brain’s electrical frequencies, stimulating positive emotions and increasing the use of dissociative thoughts. His research also found that the combination of music and exercise reduced negative physical sensations during exercise by increasing activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus, an area of the brain associated with emotional processing. Did. Music also reduces the neural output sent from the brain to the muscles, effectively blocking negative physical signals from entering our consciousness.
The psychological and physical effects that music has on exercise depend on a variety of factors. Some researchers have found that people who are new to a certain exercise routine may respond better to music. Than those with more experience, and extroverts respond more to music than introverts.
Why moving to music is better when other people are with you too
In addition to the personal emotions we experience when moving to music. There is also the influence of shared experiences, what we call “group effects.” Research has shown that moving together to a rhythm makes us more aware and considerate of each other, helping us recognize more of the similarities between ourselves and others in the room. They begin to feel happy sharing their personal space.
Music also has the effect of amplifying the emotions you receive from those around you. Researchers at the University of London showed people who were listening to music categorized into two types of music. “Happy” and “sad,” photos of happy and sad faces, and asked them to rate their emotions. However, happy music made happy faces appear happier, and sad music made sad or neutral faces appear more negative