Music and running: The science behind it

Music can also play a vital part in motivating a runner during those long boring runs. Here i have linked the ipod music playlist of Scott Dunlap, an established triathlete and ultra-marathoner. (From his site, i chance upon thousands of runners who have kept blogs on their running and training progress, etc. The Rundown has 23 editions.) The Beats per Minute (BPM) for a song is key in one’s choice, as Intersport advises.

Beats per minute

But how should you decide on which music is good for your next run? It could be helpful to check for the beats per minute (BPM) in a song. The BPM should be identical to your steps per minute – meaning if you have a song with higher BPM you will automatically take more steps per minute. This, however, does not mean that you can only run to fast music.

As an example you can either use music around 170 BPM to 180 BPM, or music that has 85 BPM to 95 BPM. The difference is that you can take one step on each beat of the faster music, where as you can take 2 steps for each beat of the slower music.

In a journal article by Sam Carr, Dave Elliott, Dave Savage in the Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol. 27, 2004, the “Effects of Motivational Music on Work Output and Affective Responses during Sub-Maximal Cycling of a Standardized Perceived Intensity” was examined. It was suggested that affective responses might exert an influence on individuals’ intention to exercise. According to Godin and Shephard (1990) the affective dimension typically refers to individuals’ emotional responses to the thought of adopting behaviors and feelings elicited by the change in behavior (e.g., is the behavior perceived as pleasant/unpleasant or interesting/ boring?). Positive experiences and mindsets yielded positive feelings and a subsequent desire to repeat the behaviour. (Godin, 1994) Therefore, it is important that participation in exercise sessions is a positive experience for individuals (Godin, 1994).

In another sports journal, the Taylor and Francis Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume 17, Number 9/September 1, 1999, “Development and initial validation of an instrument to assess the motivational qualities of music in exercise and sport: The Brunel Music Rating Inventory” shed light on how music does provide much motivation to such individuals with positive and apt mindsets toward sport. The researchers concluded that:

• Music with clear associations to sport or physical activity may prove motivating (see Karageorghis & Terry, 1997). It should be noted that not all exercise participants are motivated by music that is associated with sport (Priest et al., 2004).
• Associations that are unrelated to sport or physical activity may also prove motivating. For example, the theme to a popular television adventure series may promote the desire to engage in physical activity. Moreover, lyrics that are related to determination and strength may also conceivably enhance motivation to exercise more intensely and/or for longer.
• The musical idiom, date of release and artist of the music in question must be allied to the age and sociocultural background of the exercise participants. When a very diverse group is being considered, a systematic attempt must be made to vary these factors (see Priest et al., 2004).
• When selecting music for a predetermined exercise intensity, music tempo should be linked to exercise heart rate, particularly during high-intensity exercise (see Karageorghis, Jones, & Low, 2006).
• When selecting music for an individual, the effects of personal associations should be considered. For example, a boxer may have conditioned him or herself by listening to a certain piece of music prior to fighting. Where possible, practitioners should attempt to encourage the formation of such personal associations and harness their power.

Now back to basics, exactly which part of the brain is involved in the recognition of tone and music? Researchers have found out that it is the temporal lobe.

That is why, in severe brain trauma affecting the temporal lobe, there is “decreased recognition of tonal sequeneces and other musical abilities.”

Well then, all these being said, are all these good enough reasons for a Sony S203F mp3 sports walkman?

Or perhaps an Apple ipod and a nike ipod set? After all it is pretty cool.

Well this time i favour Sony. Got it AUD 125 off ebay.com.au.