{SPORTS MED PHYS FITNESS 2008:45:425-30
Effects of music during exercise on RPE, heart rate
and the autonomic nervous system
S. YAMASHITA |, K. EWAI |, T. AKIMOTO 2, J, SUGAWARA 3, I. KONO 4
Aim. The purpose ofthis study was Coin
‘Ship between the influence of music on RPE during sub-max-
imal exercise and on the autonome nervous system before and
after sub-maximal exercise.
Methods. Heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRY) and rates of
physical fatigue (RPE) during exercise at 60% and at 40%
Fama With and without musie were measured. The exercise
profocor consisted ot a3-min seated rest control perio fl
{owed by a 30-min submaximal eyeling exereise and a 35min
recovery period. Autonomie-nervous activity was measured
before and after exercise. During exercise, RPE was recorded
every 3 min and HR was recorded for every minute.
evulis. Although RPE did not differ during exercise at 60%
this vale was lower during exereie at 40% VOaqan
inthe presence, than in the absence of a favorite plece musle
(®<0.05). HR, HFA and LEAHEA of HRY significantly dit
fered with exercise intensity inthe absence (P0.05), but not in
the presence of mus
Conclusions. These Endings suggested that music evokes a “dis
traction effect” during low intensity exercise, but might not
influence the autonomie nervous system. Therefore, when Jog
fing or walking at compaatively low exercise intensity, lis
tening to a favorite piece of music might decrease the influ.
ence of stress caused by fatigue thus inereasing the “comfort?
level of performing the exerd
Key worns: Music - Heart rte variability - CDM analysis,
B setts music stabilizes emotion 19 and reduces
sttess,¢ it is thought to have psychological influ-
ences and is therefore applied clinically.’
‘Address reprint requests to: $. Yamashita, toaraki Prefectural
University of Health Sclenses, 4669-2 Ami, Inashik Ibaraki 300-0394
Japan. Email: yamashita@ipu.ae,jp
VeL46-No.3
‘THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS
‘Center for Humanity and Sciences
Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Am fapan
Deparment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The University of Tyo, Tokyo, Japan
Institute for Htanan Science and Biomedical Engineering
National insure of Advanced industrial Science and Tectiolog,
“Tsukuba, Japan
“insite of Leal and Sport Sciences
University of Tauduba, Tuk
‘One study has found that music decreases ratings of
perceived exertion (RPE) during exercise at moder-
ate intensity.6 On the other hand, Schwartz eral? found
that RPE did not differ regardless of the presence or
absence of music during exercise at 75% VO2mae
Furthermore, Nethery * reported that RPE decreases
while listening to music during exercise at 50% VOznae
but not at 80% VO>y,.,- Thus, music influences RPE,
during exercise at low, but not at high intensity.
‘Another study has uncovered a high correlation
between RPE and heart rate (HIR).? However, Copeland
et al.'° reported that HR when listening to soft/slow
music during exercise becomes low compared to when
listening to loud/upbeat music, On the other hand,
Schwartz et al.” has suggested that there is no differ-
ence in HR whatever music is listened to. Thus, there
is no consistent view regarding the effects of listening
to music on HR during exercise. Its not clear whether
HR is influenced by listening to music during exercise,
although effects of listening to music on RPE during,
exercise are affected by exercise intensity.
23Moreover, it is widely known that the autonomic
nervous system is involved in control of HR. That is,
increased sympathetic neural activity plays a role in
controlling the rate and contractility of the heart and in
the caliber of resistance and capacitance vessels in the
systemic circulation. Decreased parasympathetic neur-
al activity functions in controlling the rate and con-
ttactility of the heart, Increased intensity of physical
activity results in an overall increase in the activity of
the sympathetic nervous system and a decrease in that
of the parasympathetic neural system.1" In other words,
the autonomic nervous system appears to adjust the
HR during exercise.
‘Music also appears to affect the autonomic nervous
system.'? Furthermore, Yanagihashi er ai.!3 suggested
the relevance of HR variability as an index of the auto-
nomic nervous system and emotional changes caused
by sound stimulus, and that the high frequency com-
ponent of HR variability is a better tool with which
to assess comfort. Therefore, physiological reactions
should result from changes in the autonomic nervous
system triggered by music.
Incteasing numbers of people listen to music through
headphones or earphones while exercising, jogging
or walking due to recent m
‘opment of lightweight, portable audio devices. Thus,
from the viewpoint of both recreational and high per-
formance exercise, the physiological influence of
music during exercise should be clarified. However, the
relationship between the influence of music on RPE,
during sub-maximal exercise and on the autonomic
nervous system before and after sub-maximal exer-
cise remains obscure. The present study examines the
influence of music on RPE and on the autonomic nerve
system,
Materials and methods
Subjects
Bight healthy adult males provided written informed
consent to participate in all procedures associated with
the study, Mean values for age, height and weight were
21 years (SD, 0.9 years), 172.om (#SD, 6.1 cm) and
69.3 kg (SD, 5.5 kg), respectively. Mean values for
absolute maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and rel-
ative VOring, Were 3404.6 mL/min (SD, 292.2
mL/min) and 49.2 mL/kg/min (SD, 5 mL/kg/min),
respectively.
26 THE JOURNAL OF SPOR
[MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS
[EFFECTS OF MUSIC DURING ENERCISE ON RPE, HEART RATE AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
‘Tass L—Beats per minute (bpm) In favorite musical pieces chosen
Dy subjects,
Beatport
‘bom
zommoom>
MeansSE
Measurement of maximum oxygen uptake
On the first day of testing, maximal oxygen uptake
(WO yx) Was assessed using a continuous protocol on
a Combi Aerobike800 electronically braked cycle
ergometer. A ramp protocol was designed for each indi-
vidual. The initial workload of 50 W was increased by
20 W per minute until the subject reached exhaustion.
Gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath. Maximal
‘oxygen uptake was determined when an increase in
workload elicited no further increase in VO»,
Music preferences
ince musical appreciation is a personal issue and
related to relaxation state,? each individual selected a
type of music that they liked for the experimental exer
cise. This is referred to as “favorite music” (M) and.
the absence of music is described as N in this study. All
the subjects chose pop music as their favorite music. The.
number of beats per minute (bpm) of the musical pieces
chosen is shown in Table I. When exercising with their
personal choice of music, the participants wore head-
phones (SE-F70, Pioncer, Tokyo, Japan) linked to CD.
radio cassette deck (ZS-DI, Sony, Tokyo, Japan). The
headphones were not wom under N conditions. The
presence or absence of music was randomly applied.
Measurement protocol
The exercise protocol consisted of a 30-min seat-
ed rest (control) period followed by a 30-min sub-
maximal cycling exercise (232C model 50, Combi,
Tokyo, Japan) and a 35-min recovery period.
Autonomic-nervous activity was measured before
and after exercise. During exercise, we recorded RPE
Seprmber 2006[EFPECTS OF MUSIC DURING EXERCISE ON RPE, HEART RATE AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM.
every 3-min and HR every minute. Under M condi-
tions, participants listened to music during a rest
period from 20-min until S-min before starting sub-
maximal exercise on an ergometer at a frequency of
60 rpm for 30-min. The exercise intensity at 40%
WOrmas and At 60% VOsmex Was Considered to be low
(L) and medium (H), respectively, based on the rel-
ative loading dose computed by extrapolation from the
primary regression line of VO, and load from the
‘VOrng, Obtained from each participant. Submaximal
exercise proceeded under conditions of low or high
intensity, with or without music,
Data analysis:
‘We recorded HR by electrocardiography. We obtained
RR interval time series data at a resolution of 1 ms
using chest leads and an R-R interval monitor (LRR-03,,
GMS, Tokyo, Japan) from the start of seated rest until
the end of 30 min of exercise. The R-R interval data
were converted into instant HR values and the aver-
age value per minute was used as an index of HR.
Electrocardiographie R-R interval time series data were
recorded at a resolution of | ms under 15 respiratory
controls per minute using the R-R interval monitor:
The R-R interval time series cata sent to a personal
computer (PC9801, NEC, Tokyo, Japan) were ana-
lyzed by complex demodulation (CDM) "!5 that can
‘measure time-dependent changes in the amplitude of
components within a specific frequency domain.
‘Autonomic regulation of the heart is reflected as the
amplitude of the low (LF) and high (HF) frequency
components of HR variability (HRV). The resampling
rate for CDM analysis was 1 s. The LF and HE com-
ponents of the R-R interval were analyzed at reference
frequencies of 0.09 and 0.3 Hz, respectively. The low-
pass comer frequencies were set at 0,05 and 0.16 Hz for
the LF and HF components, respectively, so that the fre
quency bands for demodulating the LF and HF com-
ponents were 0.04-0.14 Hz. and 0.14-0.46 Hz, respec-
tively. The amplitude of the HF (high frequency ampli
tude, HFA) was considered an index of parasympa-
thetic activity, and the ratio of the amplitude of LF (low
frequency amplitude, LFA) to HFA (LFA/HFA) was
considered as an index of sympathetic activity. As a
result of the sampling in CDM analysis, FIFA and LFA
‘were computed every second and the average value for
I min was used as an index. The average values of
HFA, LFA and LFA/HIFA for 15 to 20 min after start-
ing seated rest were taken as the baseline (100%). The
Vol 46-No.3
YAMASHITA
average value for 20 to 25 min after starting seated
start with music under M conditions and that per minute
after exercise was computed as a rate of change from
the baseline, Measurements were taken during the after-
noon between 14:00 and 19:00 h, when autonomic ner~
vous activity was comparatively stabilized to minimize
the influence of diurnal variations. In addition, partic
pants were advised not to consume substances con-
idered to affect autonomic nervous activity such as
alcohol, caffeine and medication for 24 h before the
experiment and to sleep sufficiently.
Statistical analysis
‘We assessed HR, RPE and HRV at rest and during
exercise using a 2-factor (2x2) analysis of variance
(ANOVA) with repeated measures on both factors,
followed by Fisher's PLSD posthoc test with P<0.05
as the criterion of significance, The two factors were
the presence or absence of music and exercise inten-
sity (40% and 60% VO.)
Results
Change in RPE
‘The RPE during exercise at 60% VOnax did not sig-
nificantly differ in the presence or absence of music
igure 1), whereas that at 40% VOana, Was signifi-
cantly lower under M (9.632.3) than N conditions
(12,3842,6) at 18 min after exercise. Moreover, the
difference was also similarly significant later (Figure 2).
HR
The HR during exercise was significantly higher
than before exercise and influenced by exercise inten-
sity. However, the influence of music on HR was not
significant. On the other hand, the influence of exercise
intensity on the HR persisted after exercise stopped.
‘The influence of music on the HR was unremarkable
during exercise and absent at rest (Figure 3).
Influence on autonomic activity
INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING.
REST
‘The rate of change in HFA was not significantly
affected by music between 20 and 25 min of seated rest
(Figure 4),
THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS aa‘YAMASHITA
RPE
EFFECTS OF MUSIC DURING EXERCISE ON RPE, HEART RATE AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
2004
120)
160)
40)
120)
100
0
ol &
RPE.
eM oN
p69 BS iB
‘Mes
Figure L.—Changs of RPE during excreissitensity of 60% VO With
mise i, ad without muse 8). Das pois we represen ean
m0
RPE.
Figure 2—Changes of RPE dung exercise at intensity of 40% VOsmax
‘with usc QM, and without masie(N)- Data pins ae represented as mean,
(280), *P<0,08 between M and N,
‘Music did not appear to affect the rate of change in
LFAJ/HEA after between 20 and 25 min of starting the
seated rest (Figure 5).
AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY AFTER BXERCISE
‘The rate of change in HFA significantly differed
with respect to exercise intensity, but was unaffected
by music.
In addition, the rates of change of HFA after exer-
28
‘THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS
Erez geese are ee mae gee
Ret ——— xerciee —L—Racovery—!
Minuces
LM LN
aM RN
Figare3—Changes of heat rae (HID dng et exerse with mai and
twithout mse, covery period. Data pots se ropesened as ean
(350) eae ny a i Vana ha
Srcive at mesly of 60% VOsnax without isi: L, Mz exercise ot
Inveneity of 082 VO,max wih msi: LN: exerlse st tensity af 4%
VOsmer without mie
129)
Bo
0
40
20
°
Sof crane
8
Baie OS CT
Recovery
nutes
nM PRN LM OLN
Figure Relative changes of HFA in the HRV during rest and resovery
Psd from exercise wih music, and without masie. Dela points are repre-
{ented st means (28D), H, M:excrelveat intensity of €0% VOxmnax with
mnusie; H, Ne exereive at nteneity of 60% VOsmax without muti: L, MC
‘xereise at intensity of 40% VOsmax with muse; L, N:exerelse at incr
‘Sly of40se VOymax without masie.
cise were significantly lower than pre-exercise values
(Figure 4). In the same manner, exercise intensity
altered the rate of change of the values for LFA/HFA,
bbut music had no effect. Moreover, the rate of change
Seperior 2006[EFFECTS OF MUSIC DURING EXERCISE ON RPE, HEART RATE AND THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM,
T
estine 5 PeoauwA Tw
Rest Recovery
Minutes
[ —ERN LM OLN
. ive changes of LFA inthe HRV durin et and recovery
petiod from wih music, and without muse. Data points re representee
smeans (25D). H, M: exercise ar intensity of 0% VOsmnax with muse
H, Ne exersge a ntesiy of 0S VOsmak without mie Ly Mi exec
Se at intensity of 40% VOsmpax with use; L, Ns exercise a imensity of
4308 VOymak without mati
in LEA/HFA was significantly higher after, than before
exercise (Figure 5).
Discussion
This study investigated the effect of listening to one’s
“favorite music” during exercise upon RPE and auto-
nomic cardiac activity. We found that when participants
listened to music during and after exercise, differences
in autonomic activities were affected by exercise inten-
sity but not by music. Moreover, music affected HR
uring and after exercise even when exercise intensity
hhad no effect and although the effect by exercise inten-
sity was seen. In addition, music decreased the RPE
luring exercise at 40% VOga4., bul not at 60% Vr
According to the “parallel processi
Rejeski,!¢ sensory areas can process
ties of information, The simultaneous stimulus of
music and cognition of fatigue caused by exercise are
both recognized as sensory information. Thus, i
ing to music appears to relax the cognition of fatigue
ue to exercise, However, during exercise at high inten-
sity, the cognition of fatigue may be more predominant
than that of music, whereas the reverse is true during
low-intensity exercise. These notions are in agreement
with previous findings.'. Therefore, our findings
Vol 46-No.3
‘THE JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS,
YAMASHITA,
suggested that listening to music during low intensity
exercise causes a “distraction effect”.
In addition to HR, RPE closely correlates with phys-
ical intensity, physiological intensity, or blood lactate lev-
el. However, music did not affect HR in the same
‘manner as RPE in the present study. Other studies have
not addressed how music during exercise influences
HR. Compared with that of exercise, the stimulus of
music might be insufficient to affect HR.
The effect of music on the autonomic nervous sys-
tem during exercise was unremarkable regardless of the
tested conditions. Moreover, HIR immediately increased
after starting exercise and decreased immediately
thereafter. Furthermore, HFA which is an index of
parasympathetic activity became significantly lower
afer, compared with before exercise, and LFA/HFA,
which is an index of sympathetic activity, became sig-
nificantly higher after, than before exercise. These
findings suggest that the parasympathetic nervous sys-
tem is responsible for increasing the HR during the
early stages of exercise.20
Mitchell |! reported that in addition to parasympa-
thetic nerves, the activity of the cardiac sympathetic
nerves increases at the start of exercise, Furthermore,
the rapid reduction in the HR soon after exercise sug-
gests regulation mainly by the parasympathetic sys-
tem. The results of the present study agree with this
notion, We also found that exercise intensity was @
powerful influence upon the activity of the autonom-
ic nerves after exercise under all tested conditions.
Thus, we considered only that exercise exerted a more
powerful physiological effect than music.
‘Umemura er al suggested that sympathetic nervous
activity can be controlled by classical music and
increases in response to rock music. They suggested
that the genre of music therefore tends to differential-
ly influence autonomic nervous activity. We did not find
any influence of music on the autonomic nervous sys-
tematrest, Although the subjects in the present study
listened to different types of music the genre was the
same, and so negated the possibility of different musi-
ceal genres having variable effects.
‘Music might synchronize with the motion of differ-
ent sides of the body.23 but it is not clear what kind of
fluence the difference in bpm has on RPE and auto-
nomic cardiac activity. Furthermore, sound stimuli com-
prise very complex information in terms of pitch, vol-
lume, tone and source. Music is also highly complex, con-
sisting of melody, rhythm and harmony. Due to such
complexity, the physiological response to music and
29YAMASHITA
how music affects responses to exercise might not be
simple. Thus, the mechanism of how music influences.
the body during movement is difficult to determine,
‘Therefore, further studies of the effect of music dur-
ing exercise should be studied in terms of electroen-
cephalography, breathing, and stress hormones.
Moreover, the reliability and validity of the exper
mental procedures should be determined.
Conclusions
The present results cannot be directly applied to
sport since this study was conducted under controlled
laboratory conditions. However, when jogging, or walk-
ing at comparatively low exercise intensity, listening,
toa favorite piece of music might decrease the influ-
ence of stress caused by fatigue, thus increasing the
“comfort” level of performing the exercise.
References
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Stratnn VN, Zalancwsks AH. The eeationship hetween musi
degre of inking, and selt-reported relaxation. 7 Muste Tae 1984,
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