Regular physical activity has multifarious benefits for physical and mental health, and music has beenfound to exert positive effects on physical activity. Summative literature reviews and conceptual modelshave hypothesized potential benefits and salient mechanisms associated with music listening in exerciseand sport contexts, although no large-scale objective summary of the literature has been conducted. Amultilevel meta-analysis of 139 studies was used to quantify the effects of music listening in exercise andsport domains. In total, 598 effect sizes from four categories of potential benefits (i.e., psychologicalresponses, physiological responses, psychophysical responses, and performance outcomes) were calcu-lated based on 3,599 participants. Music was associated with significant beneficial effects on affectivevalence (g 0.48, CI [0.39, 0.56]), physical performance (g 0.31, CI [0.25, 0.36]), perceived exertion(g 0.22, CI [0.14, 0.30]), and oxygen consumption (g 0.15, CI [0.02, 0.27]). No significant benefitof music was found for heart rate (g 0.07, CI [ 0.03, 0.16]). Performance effects were moderated bystudy domain (exercise sport) and music tempo (fast slow-to-medium). Overall, results supportedthe use of music listening across a range of physical activities to promote more positive affective valence,enhance physical performance (i.e., ergogenic effect), reduce perceived exertion, and improve physio-logical efficiency.
Music has been a fundamental aspect of human culture andevolution that may even predate verbal communication (Mithen,2005;Patel, 2008). In various guises, it infuses every society onearth, from the most primitive to the most advanced. Music punc-tuates our daily lives and accompanies a broad range of activity: itis integral to initiation ceremonies, weddings, and funerals; moth-ers use it instinctively to offer comfort to a restless child; it rousessoldiers preparing to enter the fray and serves to coordinate theironward march; our most intimate moments are heightened by itspresence; and it pervades many aspects of exercise and sport. (Clark, Baker, & Taylor, 2016;Levitin, 2006). Indeed, so funda-mental is music to the human condition that German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared, “Without music, lifewould be a mistake.
”A sharp increase in obesity, physical inactivity, and cardiore-spiratory diseases is a source of growing concern to governmentsand national health providers in many developed nations (Radfordet al., 2018;Wanner, Richard, Martin, Faeh, & Rohrmann, 2017).Lack of physical activity is one of the principal risk factors fornoncommunicable diseases, which are the leading cause of deathglobally. A well-documented barrier to continued engagement inphysical activity concerns the lack of pleasure derived from par-ticipation (e.g.,Williams, Dunsiger, Jennings, & Marcus, 2012).Accordingly, in recent years, the field of exercise and healthpsychology has witnessed a paradigmatic shift from cognitivismtoward hedonism (Ekkekakis, Hartman, & Ladwig, 2020). Theupshot of this shift in practical terms, is that messages highlightingrational reasons for physical activity participation (i.e., “it’s reallygood for you”) should be supplemented by an emphasis on expe-riences that are pleasant and enjoyable (Brand & Ekkekakis,2018).
Reaping the benefits of physical activity is entirely contingentupon habitual and frequent engagement. For this reason, the psy-chological components that underlie physical activity adherencehave come into sharp focus (Ekkekakis et al., 2020). Of these, theconstruct ofaffect, a gestalt assessment of how pleasant andaroused one feels, is paramount. Earlier work showing the importance of experiencing positively valenced affect to reinforce phys-ical activity behavior has given way to more nuanced explanations.For example,Parfitt and Hughes (2009)elucidated the implications of thepeak-end rule, which holds that instances of extremelypositive affective experience (referred to asaffective peaks) duringphysical activity, and especially during its final moments, encour-age future participation via the proposed mechanism of affectivememory (Fredrickson & Kahneman, 1993).
Physical activity intensity is thought to be a key determinant ofaffect and is duly considered as a moderating variable in thepresent analysis. The dual-mode theory proposed byEkkekakis(2003)provides a framework describing the affective impact ofthree levels of physical activity intensity that vary qualitatively.Moderatephysical activity, which is lower than the ventilatorythreshold (i.e., the intensity at which breathing becomes labored),is characteristically pleasurable.Heavyphysical activity, whichlies close to the ventilatory threshold, may be perceived as plea-surable or displeasurable depending on the interpretation of theperformer.Severephysical activity, which lies beyond the venti-latory threshold, is almost universally perceived as displeasurable.Given its propensity to enhance affective states during physicalactivity, music has been advocated as a means by which to increaseadherence to physical activity (e.g.,Clark et al., 2016;Hutchinsonet al., 2018). The role of music may prove especially beneficial,given that it has been shown to have a positive influence onaffective valence, even at higher physical activity intensities (e.g.,Bigliassi, Karageorghis, Nowicky, Orgs, & Wright, 2016;Terry,Karageorghis, Mecozzi Saha, & D’Auria, 2012).
