Synchronized personalized music audio-playlists to improve adherence to physical activity among patients participating in a structured exercise program: a proof-of-principle feasibility study

Abstract

BackgroundPreference-based tempo-pace synchronized music has been shown to reduce perceived physical activity exertion and improve exercise performance. The extent to which such strategies can improve adherence to physical activity remains unknown. The objective of the study is to explore the feasibility and efficacy of tempo-pace synchronized preference-based music audio-playlists on adherence to physical activity among cardiovascular disease patients participating in a cardiac rehabilitation.MethodsThirty-four cardiac rehabilitation patients were randomly allocated to one of two strategies: (1) no music usual-care control and (2) tempo-pace synchronized audio-devices with personalized music playlists + usual-care. All songs uploaded onto audio-playlist devices took into account patient personal music genre and artist preferences. However, actual song selection was restricted to music whose tempos approximated patients’ prescribed exercise walking/running pace (steps per minute) to achieve tempo-pace synchrony. Patients allocated to audio-music playlists underwent further randomization in which half of the patients received songs that were sonically enhanced with rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) to accentuate tempo-pace synchrony, whereas the other half did not. RAS was achieved through blinded rhythmic sonic-enhancements undertaken manually to songs within individuals’ music playlists. The primary outcome consisted of the weekly volume of physical activity undertaken over 3 months as determined by tri-axial accelerometers. Statistical methods employed an intention to treat and repeated-measures design.ResultsPatients randomized to personalized audio-playlists with tempo-pace synchrony achieved higher weekly volumes of physical activity than did their non-music usual-care comparators (475.6 min vs. 370.2 min, P < 0.001). Improvements in weekly physical activity volumes among audio-playlist recipients were driven by those randomized to the RAS group which attained weekly exercise volumes that were nearly twofold greater than either of the two other groups (average weekly minutes of physical activity of 631.3 min vs. 320 min vs. 370.2 min, personalized audio-playlists with RAS vs. personalized audio-playlists without RAS vs. non-music usual-care controls, respectively, P < 0.001). Patients randomized to music with RAS utilized their audio-playlist devices more frequently than did non-RAS music counterparts (P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe use of tempo-pace synchronized preference-based audio-playlists was feasibly implemented into a structured exercise program and efficacious in improving adherence to physical activity beyond the evidence-based non-music usual standard of care. Larger clinical trials are required to validate these findings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID (NCT01752595)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40798-015-0017-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Beneficial Effect of Preferential Music on Exercise Induced Changes in Heart Rate Variability

“…In our study, since we had selected music preferred by the participants, added to the fact that the subject was in a relaxed mood must have accounted for the music induced alterations in sympathetic and parasympathetic activity during exercise. Our findings are in agreement with the recent works [37,38]. It is clear from our results that preferred music has a definite calming effect on exercise induced changes in HRV which is in accordance with the work of Pal et al, who have shown that practice of relaxation therapy with soothing music in the background was effective in lowering the LF/HF ratio of HRV in medical students [39].…”

Optimizing beat synchronized running to music

“…The tempo of running, or cadence, refers to the frequency of steps, whereas speed (expressed in km/h) refers to the total distance travelled in a certain amount of time. In previous studies, the preferred exercise intensity was often measured before the actual experiment and the music tempo was generally rather coarsely matched to a subject's spontaneous or comfort tempo (e.g., within a 10% range of the assessed cadence) [13, 14]. However, such an approach disregards the fact that the comfort tempo of an individual might be different at the time of the test, or that it might fluctuate during the test period.…”

Vocaloid in China: Cosmopolitan music, cultural expression, and multilayer identity

“…If globalization is really destroying cultural identities and transforming them into a more market-oriented and collective one, it seems reasonable to assume that cultural products such as films and music would be more homogeneous, universal, and commercialized than they were in the past. This anxiety over losing local culture and individual traditions in cultural production is particularly evident in the music industry, especially when digital technologies like voice synthesis are gradually replacing traditional music materials, including conventional ethnic instruments and performances (Alter et al, 2015). However, a small number of researchers have continued to pursue a line of inquiry associated with the critics of cultural imperialism, claiming that the application of technologies has made forms and styles of culture creep toward hybridization rather than homogeneity (Born & Hesmondhalgh, 2000).…”