Musical feedback during exercise machine workout enhances mood

Abstract

Music making has a number of beneficial effects for motor tasks compared to passive music listening. Given that recent research suggests that high energy musical activities elevate positive affect more strongly than low energy musical activities, we here investigated a recent method that combined music making with systematically increasing physiological arousal by exercise machine workout. We compared mood and anxiety after two exercise conditions on non-cyclical exercise machines, one with passive music listening and the other with musical feedback (where participants could make music with the exercise machines). The results showed that agency during exercise machine workout (an activity we previously labeled jymmin – a cross between jammin and gym) had an enhancing effect on mood compared to workout with passive music listening. Furthermore, the order in which the conditions were presented mediated the effect of musical agency for this subscale when participants first listened passively, the difference in mood between the two conditions was greater, suggesting that a stronger increase in hormone levels (e.g., endorphins) during the active condition may have caused the observed effect. Given an enhanced mood after training with musical feedback compared to passively listening to the same type of music during workout, the results suggest that exercise machine workout with musical feedback (jymmin) makes the act of exercise machine training more desirable.

Effect of music therapy, aerobic exercise and combined intervention on psychological and physiological parameters in collegiate athletes: A comparative study

“…The results support the findings of Baldari et al, (2010), who reported that exercising while also getting music therapy reduces anxiety at a greater extent than exercising without music in active participants. The results were in contrast with Macone et al, (2006) who reported that exercising along with musical intervention does not result in reduction of state anxiety; and consistent with the findings of Fritz et al, (2013) who reported that exercising while getting musical feedback enhances the mood status of an individual, and ultimately reduces anxiety. This discrepancy could partly be due to population difference.…”

Effectiveness of Music Therapy on Social Skill Growth in Educable Intellectual Disability Boys

“…The result after intervention in the experimental group shows that music therapy made a highly significant change in their social skills. So it is compatible with the results achieved in previous studies on the effect of music therapy in improving psychological function and resolve of some psychiatric disorders including anxiety and improve stress management [7] [10] [11] [16]- [20]. The effect music therapy on social growth may be due to mood regulation [6]- [8] or by improving function of brain in coping with stress, self-satisfaction and self-confidence increases [13]- [15].…”

Benefits of listening to a recording of euphoric joint music making in polydrug abusers

“…The musical feedback session was recorded 5 days prior to the current experiment. In this music session, participants worked out on fitness machines (stomach trainer, stepper and cable lat pulldown) that were enhanced with sensors and a sound system to produce musical sounds through workout movement (Fritz et al, 2013a , b ). Musical parameters that were modulated by the group were cutoff-filter and pitch of different tracks of a largely predefined musical piece.…”

“…When working out, participants created the musical piece in a group performance. This paradigm had previously been shown to be effective at evoking euphoric musical experiences through a combination of musical expression and physical exertion (for a detailed description, see Fritz et al, 2013a , b ).…”

“…This intervention allows participants to express themselves musically by exercising on fitness machines that have been modified to transform physical movements into musical sounds and thus allow music to be played interactively in a group. This combination of musical expression and extreme physiological arousal has been shown to create an intense musical and emotional experience that correlates with a decreased sense of exertion (Fritz et al, 2013a ) and an enhanced mood (Fritz et al, 2013b ).…”