While it’s not always possible to work out without music, it’s also possible to benefit from it. Here are some reasons why it’s essential to listen to music when it comes to improving your fitness.
You Will Work Harder
You might feel an extra boost in your step when the music plays. According to Costas Karageorghis, a sports medicine professor at Brunel University London, music can help improve one’s performance by making one run farther, swim faster, and bike longer. He also claims that it can reduce one’s perceived effort and increase endurance by up to 15 percent.
Reduce Pain
A 2013 study by McGill University revealed that music could help reduce the need for opiate drugs in patients who have undergone surgery. While this isn’t a replacement for medication, it can help distract people from their usual aches and pains during exercise, encouraging them to complete their workouts.
A Boost of Happiness
Dopamine is a chemical that helps your brain reward itself. Listening to music triggers a chemical in your brain that’s known to increase dopamine, which makes you feel better. The combination of exercise and music can also boost serotonin, which is a mood-enhancing chemical.
A Change in Stress and Anxiety
bFor people who are looking to improve their fitness, music can be a great way to wind down and carry the relaxing effects of their workouts with them throughout the rest of the day. According to a 2013 review, listening to music can help reduce stress levels.
Uplift Your Immunity
In addition to improving mood and reducing stress, music can also help boost one’s immunity. This is great news for people who are looking to keep their fitness routine on track!
Time Passes By
It can seem like an endless amount of work, but it can be easier to handle when it’s broken down by song. For instance, a 60-minute exercise is roughly 15 of your favorite songs. If each of them is around four minutes long, that’s approximately one album.
Exercising Your Brain
In his book, Daniel Levitin states that music helps people improve their fitness and significantly impacts their brains. According to him, the musical activity involves different parts of the brain. For instance, a part of the brain responsible for processing tempo and pitch is activated by the lyrics of a song.