88 - Costas Karageorghis on Music and Exercise

What this episode covers

Endurance Innovation is now on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/enduranceinnovation]! Have a peek at our page and show us some love. * 4:00 Professor Costas Karageorghis  * 10:00 the history of research of music and physical activity * 14:45 a look 'under the bonnet' at the brain's role in mediating athletic performance and the influence of music on this process. Playing music appears to have the following effects * Improvement in brain oxygenation. This may account for improved performance on time to exhaustion studies with music  * A reduction in the frequency of firing of certain populations of neurons appears to lessen perception of fatigue * Improvement in firing of both the afferent and efferent nerve impulses, facilitating muscle contractions * An impairment in communication between areas of the brain responsible for signaling fatigue  * 22:00 the limitations of modern imaging techniques in studying the brain while the subject is mobile * 25:30 the evolutionary drive for this performance-enhancing role of music * 27:45 auditory-motor synchronization increases aerobic efficiency by 6-7% * 32:15 evidence for the effect on music on performance improvement is small but reliable. The effect on emotional state and mood regulation is medium and reliable.  * 33:30 the role of enhanced mood on motivation and consistency in training * 34:45 pre-task music  * 36:15 musical recommendations for improved performance * Use cases include: pre-task, in-task, post-task, and synchronously or asynchronously  * Music with relaxing or low-arousal properties for warm up, cool down, recovery. Music for high-arousal properties for high intensity work * 39:45 it is difficult for listeners to process music above ~75% of maximal aerobic output (~ anaerobic threshold) * 40:00 qualities of music that determine its arousal / energizing potential * Tempo: ideally between 120bpm and 140bpm * Rhythmic accentuation * Lyrical affirmation  * Beat regularity * 44:00 recommendations for exercise at very high intensity * Syntactic processing of lyrics severely impaired above 75% of maximal aerobic capacity * Rhythmic music with minimal lyrics ideal  * Music does not appear to reduce perception of effort at high intensity, BUT it may colour our interpretation of fatigue, making it less uncomfortable * 47:45 contraindications: when using music in training is not recommended: * Music can capture 10-12% of our attention, making it completely unsafe when riding outdoors * Music above 80dB carries an increased risk of hearing damage when concurrently exercising at a high intensity due to a reduction in blood flow to the cochlea in the inner ear * Routinely using music in all workouts creates dependency  * 51:45 advice on 'earworms' * 54:15 music to avoid when training * 57:00 classical playlist recommendation [https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-consider-adding-classical-music-to-your-exercise-playlist-147316]   * 59:45 the greater someone's experience and appreciation for music, the more complex the music they may want for exercise Follow Prof. Karageorghis on Twitter [https://twitter.com/SAVIBrunel]and check out his book: Applying Music in Exercise and Sport.