Effects of Music in Exercise and Sport: A Meta-Analytic Review

Regular physical activity has multifarious benefits for physical and mental health, and music has been found to exert positive effects on physical activity. Summative literature reviews and conceptual models have hypothesized potential benefits and salient mechanisms associated with music listening in exercise and sport contexts, although no large-scale objective summary of the literature has been conducted. A multilevel meta-analysis of 139 studies was used to quantify the effects of music listening in exercise and sport domains. In total, 598 effect sizes from four categories of potential benefits (i.e., psychological responses, physiological responses, psychophysical responses, and performance outcomes) were calculated based on 3,599 participants. Music was associated with significant beneficial effects on affective valence (g = 0.48, CI [0.39, 0.56]), physical performance (g = 0.31, CI [0.25, 0.36]), perceived exertion (g = 0.22, CI [0.14, 0.30]), and oxygen consumption (g = 0.15, CI [0.02, 0.27]). No significant benefit of music was found for heart rate (g = 0.07, CI [−0.03, 0.16]). Performance effects were moderated by study domain (exercise > sport) and music tempo (fast > slow-to-medium). Overall, results supported the use of music listening across a range of physical activities to promote more positive affective valence, enhance physical performance (i.e., ergogenic effect), reduce perceived exertion, and improve physiological efficiency. Public Significance Statement This meta-analytic investigation suggests that listening to music before or during physical activity offers potential benefits for exercisers and athletes. Music has the capacity to enhance enjoyment, improve physical performance, reduce perceived exertion, and benefit physiological efficiency across a range of physical activities, albeit the magnitude of the effects tends to be small.