The Science of Workout Music

Whistle While You Work Out

Do your treadmill sessions drone on like watching Parliament Question Time on the ABC? Instead, think MTV and crank up some tunes. A new study from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia confirmed that listening to your favorite music will help you push harder in your workouts. Men who listened to music while going hard on an exercise bike for 10 minutes pedaled 11 percent farther than those who listened to silence or static for the same amount of time.

Music Makes the People Come Together

Science has backed up what anyone who has ever worked out with an iPod may have guessed: Listening to music makes exercise more fun, and that can help you stick to your routine. "Music inspires movement," says Costas Karageorghis, PhD, a sports psychologist at Brunel University in London. "Like smell, it can penetrate areas of the brain that language alone doesn't reach." In fact, research has shown that synchronizing the speed of music with exercise gets people to train harder.

In his latest study, Karageorghis compared participants' heart rates with the number of beats in music and found that matching the tempo to workout intensity mattered most for those who exercised the most strenuously. But you don't have to be training for a marathon to tailor your playlist to your workout. Choose inspirational, upbeat songs such as "The Best" by Tina Turner or "Spring" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons for your warm-up and fast tracks with driving rhythms for the main part of your workout; Karageorghis likes Michael Jackson songs and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, whereas Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie has set world records by running while listening to John Larkin's "Scatman."

Burn some Beethoven

In a 2004 study at the University of California at San Diego, researchers irritated people by giving them a difficult task then nudging them to go faster. Afterward, the subjects listened to classical music, jazz, pop, or total silence. Silence was least calming -- their blood pressure spiked almost 11 points. Jazz and pop relieved stress a bit more. But the BP of the classical-music listeners rose only 2 points. We suggest this starter kit: Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites; Beethoven's Concerto for Violin in D; Brahms's Violin Concerto in D, op. 77; and Mozart's symphonies 35 through 41.

Soothe the Savage Back

Cranking your favourite music may help eliminate back pain. In a study of 65 people who'd been hospitalised for chronic lower-back pain, researchers found that men who relaxed and listened to music for 25 minutes a day slept better and had less pain than men who didn't listen to music.

Listen for Calm

When you're anticipating a stressful situation--a performance review with the boss, a big presentation--listen to music while preparing. An Australian study found that music (specifically, Pachelbel's Canon in D) prevented stress-related reactions--spikes in heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels--in people preparing for an oral presentation. Those who prepared in silence had significant increases in all measures.

Beat It

Despite graphic evidence to the contrary--Keith Moon, John Bonham--drumming has proven health benefits. A recent study found that when staffers in a high-burnout industry participated in drumming sessions, they experienced a 50 percent improvement in mood that continued for at least 6 weeks. The people in this study also reported a decrease in fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Pick up a pair of sticks at the music store, crank up Live at Leeds, and slam away the day's stress.

Head Banger

Next time you have a song stuck in your head, blame your auditory cortex, not Beyonce....Dartmouth College researchers scanned the brain activity of people listening to music recordings containing gaps of silence. When participants knew the song, the auditory cortex stayed active during the gaps, as though "the music is playing in your head," says researcher David Kraemer, a graduate student in cognitive neuroscience. To exorcise a song, try listening to it, then playing it all the way through in your mind.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Listening to soft music for 45 minutes before bedtime can slow breathing and heart rates, helping you drift off faster and slumber soundly according to a Case Western Reserve University study.