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4 Remarkable Ways Music Can Enhance Athletic Performance.

In 2007, the USA Track & Field, the national governing body for distance racing, banned the use of headphones and portable audio players at its official races, creating the rule “to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.”

Many runners protested the rule (it does remain in effect today, but in an amended fashion) because they know how essential it is to turning on performance and even providing a rewarding workout. That alone speaks volumes for the power of music.

How much are you “tuned into” the fact that some really good music can actually improve your enjoyment and performance in a sport or activity?

As we’re about to find out, it’s true!

Maybe it’s your performance or perhaps your client’s, but regardless, listening to music before, during, or even after sport and activity can contribute to motivation, performance, and skill learning in a very broad way. Yes, music can enhance athletic performance! Time to open up your ears, let me show you.

Is music a performance-enhancing drug?

The world-leading researcher on music for performance, Dr. Costas Karageorghis, who has authored over 100 studies, says that one can think of music as “a type of legal performance-enhancing drug.” Music enhances athletic performance and it can be a very compelling intervention for improving how one relates to both their actual performance and their end result.

In this article, I want to share with you some very poignant and positive research pieces about the beautiful relationship between the role of music and how it can enhance one’s athletic performance. How exactly does music improve performance? Good question. I’m actually going to choose four key ways how music can influence and enhance performance, power and strength. Let’s begin with mind diversion, also called dissociation.

Dissociation through music diverts the mind

Dissociation refers to diverting the mind from sensations of fatigue that creep up and in during performance. Research has repeatedly shown [here’s the full PDF] how music can improve performance by drawing one’s attention away from feelings of fatigue and pain when engaged in endurance activities such as running, cycling, or swimming. In fact, sports scientists at Brunel University in the UK, a world-leading research hub on music for athleticism, have demostrated that music can reduce your rate of perceived effort by 12% and improve your endurance by 15%.

This benefit isn’t exclusive to beginner exercisers: elite athletes use this strategy all the time! Did you know that one of the greatest distance runners in history, Haile Gebrselassie, synched his stride to the song “Scatman” when breaking the 10,000 metre world record? It’s been shown that listening to music during exercise increases the efficiency of that activity and it postpones fatigue.

This especially holds true if there is a synchrony between the rhythm of the music and the movements of the athlete themselves. In terms of muscle strength, music that is perceived to be motivating can lead to bursts of intensity. This increases your work capacity and can bring about ultra-high levels of explosive power, strength, and productivity. Think of its influence on sprints, high jumps, weightlifting, plyometrics, and even high intensity interval training!

Music promotes flow states for internal motivation

Flow involves an altered mental state of awareness during activity. Even though it is a feeling of energised focus it seems the mind and body function on “auto-pilot” with minimal conscious effort. Some coaches and athletes refer to this as being “in the zone”.

It sometimes has been referred to as a spellbinding state and can actually feel trance-like. So can you imagine how music can pair with flow for a stimulating and enhancing performance for yourself or client? Some athletes describe utilising music to aid with their mental imagery during the routine part of their activity as allowing them to be “in the zone”.

Many athletes use music in diverse ways in order to achieve a certain level of focus and concentration before a game or competition as well.

Music enables them to put aside all other outside distractions in order to concentrate and envision what they want to accomplish during the game.

Synchronised music movements can shift your level of workout

Synchronising your music with repetitive exercise is linked to increased levels of work output. Research supports the synchronistic aspect of rhythm as an important piece in skill and performance. For example, music can balance and adjust movement, thus prolonging performance. Have you ever had that experience where listening to a faster tempo moved you along at a faster pace which enhanced the activity your were engaged in? Conversely, we then can apply this to the slower (tempo) that may be conducive to a slower or more graceful pace or need for focus.

A news release out of Stanford University reports researchers assert specific pieces of music could enhance concentration or promote relaxation. Think what’s needed in figure skating, the skill in archery, a free throw in basketball, or even a golf putt. Similarly, sedating music can be particularly helpful with pre-competition anxiety and nerves.

Music evokes emotions that enrich your enjoyment

Several studies have linked music with positive feelings and memories. Music can boost internal motivation by triggering good emotions, helping you experience much greater pleasure from the activity. This is magnified when a piece of music reminds you of an aspect of your life that is emotionally significant.

Why does it matter? Researchers believe that these factors have the power to increase your adherence to an exercise programme in the long run. Stickiness is crucial for unconditioned individuals and for those who are in a rehabilitation programme that involves exercise, such as physiotherapy, the treatment of chronic pain, or a heart condition.

So if music can be intentionally added as part of a training programme, think how much more inclined a person will be to come back!

So what do you think about music in relation to performance improvement?

As you can see, listening to your favourite tunes can definitely improve your enjoyment of competing in sports, enhance and improve your performance, and it can certainly affect your mood by eliciting a certain emotional response whilst listening to a meaningful song.

How have you been influenced or affected through music? Do you find it an essential piece to activity, sport, or competition?

If you have been influenced or affected by music in a positive way during your performance in any way, please join in on the conversation below in the comments! We’d love to hear about your experience, as it may shed some light for someone else. If this is a useful practise that you can envision using yourself or with a client, try it out. Come back and let us know how it worked out for you. And please share this with someone who might enjoy discovering the remarkable effects of music!

Source: © The Health Sciences Academy ®. All Rights Reserved.

Read more: https://thehealthsciencesacademy.org

We don't just talk about mental training. We do it.

- David R. Hamilton, PhD | October 30, 2014

Judging by the brain scans in the image, it doesn’t seem so. The scans are from one of my favourite pieces of research.

Volunteers were asked to play a simple sequence of piano notes each day for five consecutive days. Their brains were scanned each day in the region connected to the finger muscles. Another set of volunteers were asked to imagine playing the notes instead, also having their brains scanned each day.

The top two rows in the image show the changes in the brain in those who played the notes. The middle two rows show the changes in those who simply imagined playing the notes. Compare this with the bottom two rows showing the brain regions of the control group, who didn’t play nor imagine playing, piano.

You can clearly see that the changes in the brain in those who imaged playing piano are the same as in those who actually played piano. Really, your brain doesn’t distinguish real from imaginary!

It’s pretty obvious when you think about it. The stress response evolved in humans to give us the ability to fight or flee when faced with danger. Chemicals including cortisol and adrenalin help kick start the body, pushing blood towards the major muscles to give you strength.

But the exact same stress response kicks in when you imagine danger, also producing cortisol and adrenalin and pushing blood around the body. The same chemistry is produced regardless of whether the danger is real or imagined.

What does all this mean in real life? It means that what you imagine to be happening is actually happening as far as your brain is concerned.

Earlier this year I spoke at a corporate conference, something I enjoy doing as I get to share science that gives extra credibility to self-improvement strategies. Sally Gunnell spoke first. She won the 1992 Olympic Gold medal in the 400m hurdles. Sally explained that winning gold was 70% mental. After failing to win at the 1991 world championships she started practicing visualisation. She did it every day, imagining sprinting, hurdling, and even having the strength to hang on in the home straight.

Through visualising like this, her brain would have undergone changes that improved her muscles, giving her body the capacity to do what she had been imagining.

You can apply the exact same technique in your own life to improve your ability in sports, and even in rehabilitation after illness or injury should you need to. Several studies on stroke patients, for instance, have shown that visualisation speeds up recovery.

Even if you imagine eating, the brain thinks you are eating and there is evidence to suggest that it turns on the ‘I’m full’ signals afterwards. In a simple experiment, scientists showed that if a person imagined eating, if they imagined the entire chewing and swallowing sensations as clearly as they could, they had less appetite for more food afterwards, just as the same would be true if you had actually eaten. This has obvious implications for weight loss strategies. (See my blog, ‘How to Think Yourself Slim‘)

People all around the world also use visualisation to imagine themselves healed or healing from illness and disease. The strategy involves focusing on wellness instead of illness.

You can even use visualisation to give you extra confidence. You can imagine yourself in a situation where you would usually be lacking but see yourself acting with confidence, conveying the body language of confidence.

Whatever you apply visualisation to, you have more of an ability to shape your brain circuits and the physiology and health of your body than most people think.

How Can Music Influence Performance

- Valerie Dennehy

Music plays an important role in people’s everyday lives (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003). Music plays a role in the sport and exercise domain. In fact a common image of sports now a day is that of athletes entering the competition arena adorning headphones. Music elicits certain feelings and emotions depending on the situation. So how does this apply specifically to sport?

Scientific inquiry has revealed five key ways in which music can influence preparation and competitive performances: dissociation, arousal regulation, synchronization, acquisition of motor skills and attainment of flow.

Dissociation– Listening to music can deflect a performer’s attention away from the negative and towards the positive thus lowering the perception of effort. Effective dissociation promotes positive aspects of mood (e.g. vigour and happiness), while negative aspects (e.g. tension, anger) are lessened (Bishop, et al., 2007).

Arousal Regulation- Arousal refers to the degree of anxiety and is manifested in both physical and psychological factors. Music alters emotional and physiological arousal and can be used prior to competition or training to calm anxious feelings (Bishop, et al., 2007), thus providing arousal regulation. An example of is Dame Kelly Holmes reported using soulful ballads of Alicia Keys in her pre-event routine at 2004 Olympic games. On the other hand, athletes can use more upbeat songs to feel more energised and psyched up.

Synchronization- The tempo of the music can also have an effect on movement. The type of music listened to may cause an person to synchronize their movements (Karageorghis & Terry, 1997). Therefore, if an athlete listens to a fast temp song they may be likely to increase their movements to a faster pace possibly enhancing performance (i.e. cycling, running). Likewise, if an athlete requires slower more graceful movements (i.e. figure skating), then slower temp music could assist optimal performance. This supports the research of Smoll and Schultz (1982) that rhythm is an important component in motor skill and performance.

Acquisition of Motor Skills– music can help to replicate aspects of human movement. It can transport the body through effective movement patterns. Music can also promote intrinsic motivation. The use of music in a learning environment can make the environment more fun for the players and promote learning.

Attainment of Flow- Flow is sometimes referred to as being “in the zone”. This is a state where during physical activity the mind and body function on ‘auto-pilot’ with minimal conscious effort. Research has shown that interventions that include self-selected music and imagery performance could enhance athletic performance by triggering emotions and cognitions associated with flow (Pates, et al., 2003).

Therefore sport psychologists have advised athletes to employ music as tool in preparation for competition. This is due to the fact that music will influence arousal if it promotes thoughts that encourage physical activity or relaxation. That is, the association between certain types of music and physical activity may act as a stimulus. If an athlete needs to increase arousal level before a game then they may listen to upbeat music that encourages them to go and compete at an intense level. If an athlete needs to lower their arousal level they may listen to music that will help them to calm down and relax. As Paula Radcliffe, the world record–holding marathoner, has said, “I put together a playlist and listen to it during the run-in. It helps psych me up and reminds me of times in the build-up when I’ve worked really hard, or felt good. With the right music, I do a much harder workout.”