Don't feel like working out? THIS small tweak can supercharge the brain!

Time of India

4 days ago

Let's just face it. You might be a fitness enthusiast, but there are days when mental fatigue makes even lacing up your shoes feel like a challenge. Staying active is more important now than ever, especially at a time when lifestyle diseases are on the rise.
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But how do you motivate yourselves and combat mental fatigue? A study has found that a slight tweak in your daily run could do the job.
A study conducted by the researchers at the
found that listening to music while running can fight mental fatigue.
Tune into your favourite music
The therapeutic power of music is well known, and this study has found that listening to music while running can improve people's performance when they feel mentally fatigued.
The researchers found that the performance of runners who listened to a playlist of their choice after finishing a mentally demanding task performed similar to when they were not mentally fatigued. This is the first study to explore the effect of listening to music playlists on endurance running capacity and performance when mentally fatigued.
The study
To understand the link between music and performance, when mentally fatigued, the researchers conducted two tests.
They investigated how listening to music affected the running performance of 18 fitness enthusiasts.
One study looked at the impact on interval running capacity, alternating between high-intensity running and lower-intensity jogging. It had a group of nine physically active participants, while the other focused on a 5km time trial involving nine trained runners.
The participants underwent a 30-minute computer-based cognitive test, which put them in a mentally fatigued state before completing high-intensity exercise.
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The participants' performance was tested with and without self-selected motivational music.
The researchers assisted the participants in selecting motivational songs with the help of a pre-test questionnaire. They were asked to rate the rhythm, style, melody, tempo, sound, and beat of the music.
Some of the songs were: Everyday by A$ap Rocky; Addicted To You by Avicii; Run This Town by Jay-Z; Power by Kanye West; No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age; and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
The heart rate and rating of perceived exertion were measured at multiple points during the exercise.
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The findings
The researchers found that the interval running capacity among the mentally fatigued fitness enthusiasts was moderately greater with music, when compared to without music. This was similar to the participants' performance when they were not mentally burned out. The 5km time-trial performances also showed small improvements with self-selected music versus no music.
The researchers noted that the positive effects of music could be due to the altered perception of effort when listening to tunes.
"
is a common occurrence for many of us, and can negatively impact many of our day-to-day activities, including exercise. Finding safe and effective ways to reduce this negative impact is therefore useful,' Dr. Shaun Phillips, of the University of Edinburgh's Moray House School of Education and Sport, said.
"The findings indicate that listening to self-selected motivational music may be a useful strategy to help active people improve their endurance running capacity and performance when mentally fatigued. This positive impact of self-selected music could help people to better maintain the quality and beneficial impact of their exercise sessions,' Dr. Phillips added.