The Effects of Genre of Music on Physiological Stress Response After Moderate Exercise

Abstract

The advent of portable music devices and growing popularity of musicguided exercise classes have ushered in an era in which music and exercise increasingly intersect. Previous research suggest that music can produce positive, soothing effects during exercise; however, no research group has previously investigated how music affects the physiological recovery rate of the body after physical activity. Determining the significance of music’s effects on the complex psychobiological stress response resulting from exercise provides information vital to 1) determining whether different styles of music elicit predictable styledependent effects on autonomic physiological measures of stress, 2) establishing whether one’s perceived exertion differs depending on music style, and 3) guiding music selections of individuals undergoing cardiovascular exercise to most effectively expedite recovery. With our results, individuals can determine if music can elicit a robust calming effect in scenarios of moderate physiological stress. Eighteen healthy normal volunteers, between the ages of 2023, performed three brief trials of moderate physical exercise while being exposed to three different auditory stimuli: white noise, classical music, and heavy metal music. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and perceived exertion were measured postexercise to determine to rate at which each participant returned to their premeasured baseline levels. The results of this study support no significant difference (pvalue= 0.2015) in recovery rate between trial exposures to classical music versus heavy metal music. While the findings of this study indicate that the physiologic stress response appears impervious to music style, further research is necessary to delineate the relationship between music and exercise physiology.