Summary: It is a common belief that listening to music while exercising improves focus, elevates mood, and enhances mental performance. However, a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis suggests this isn’t a universal truth.
After analyzing ten experimental studies, researchers found no consistent evidence that music improves executive functions (like attention or inhibitory control) or affective responses (positive feelings) during short bouts of exercise. Instead, the effects appear to be highly situational, depending on exercise intensity and individual factors like age.
Key Facts
- Inconsistent Benefits: Across multiple studies, music did not reliably show universal improvements in cognitive or emotional outcomes during exercise.
- Intensity Matters: The perceived benefits of music tended to vanish or become negligible during higher-intensity workouts.
- Age Factor: Older participant samples showed smaller or negligible responses to music compared to younger groups.
- The “One-Size-Fits-All” Myth: Broad claims about music’s mental benefits during exercise are not supported by current experimental evidence; context is everything.
- Methodological Gaps: Researchers call for more rigorous and consistent study designs to determine if specific types of music or exercise pairings actually work.
Source: University of Jyväskylä
Music is commonly used during exercise and is often assumed to improve focus, mood, or mental performance.
A new systematic review and meta-analysis led by researchers at the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain at the University of Jyväskylä examined whether these assumptions are supported by experimental evidence.
The review analysed ten studies that tested the effects of music on executive functions (such as attention and inhibitory control) and on affective responses (positive or negative feelings) during short bouts of exercise. Across studies, the results showed no consistent effects of music on cognitive or emotional outcomes.
Rather than finding clear benefits, the researchers observed that results varied widely depending on the context or exercise setting. In particular, analyses suggested that music tended to show smaller or negligible effects during higher-intensity exercise and among older participant samples. Any apparent effects were inconsistent across studies and did not reliably generalise.
Specifically, they found that the effects of music were not stable or universal. Instead, outcomes appeared to differ based on factors such as how hard participants were exercising, who the participants were, and how the studies were designed.
“Music is often treated as a one-size-fits-all tool for improving exercise experiences, but when we looked carefully at the evidence, the effects were somewhat inconsistent. What seems to matter is the situation, how intense the exercise is, who is exercising, and how outcomes are measured. Without that context, broad claims about music’s benefits during exercise are not always supported.” Dr. Andrew Danso, leader of the study.
Overall, the review highlights the need for more rigorous and consistent study designs to clarify when music may, or may not influence cognitive and emotional responses during exercise.
Key Questions Answered:
A: Not necessarily. If it makes your workout more enjoyable, keep going! But if you’re using it specifically to “boost your brain power” or focus better during a high-intensity sprint, science says it might not be doing as much as you think.
A: When your body is working at max capacity, your brain is overwhelmed by physical signals—breathing, heart rate, and muscle fatigue. At that level of intensity, the “distraction” or “boost” from music simply can’t compete with the body’s survival-level sensory input.
A: This review looked for general trends and found them lacking. Future research might find that highly personalized music or specific tempos work for specific people, but right now, there’s no “magic playlist” proven to work for everyone.
Editorial Notes:
- This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.
- Journal paper reviewed in full.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this music, exercise, and mood research news
Author: Reetta Kalliola
Source: University of Jyväskylä
Contact: Reetta Kalliola – University of Jyväskylä
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Does music support executive functions and affective responses during acute exercise? A systematic review and meta-analysis” by Andrew Danso, Julia Vigl, Friederike Koehler, Keegan Knittle, Joshua S. Bamford, Patti Nijhuis, Eero A. Haapala, Ming Yu Claudia Wong, Shannon E. Wright, Margarida Baltazar, Nora Serres, Niels Chr. Hansen, Andrea Schiavio, Suvi Saarikallio, and Geoff Luck. Frontiers in Psychology
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1714707
Abstract
Does music support executive functions and affective responses during acute exercise? A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction:
Maintaining a steady running pace despite physical or mental fatigue often engages executive functions. These functions may contribute to sustaining exercise participation by regulating cognitive and affective responses to the demands of physical exercise.
Research on both music and acute exercise independently shows engagement of executive functions and affective responses, with exercise intensities influencing outcomes. However, the combined effects of music and acute exercise on executive functions and affective outcomes remain underexplored.
Methods:
Accordingly, this review examines how music may interact with executive functions and affective responses during acute exercise.
Results:
Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, with nine providing data for effect size calculations across 21 intervention arms. Narrative synthesis indicated context-dependent patterns between music and acute exercise combinations, particularly at low-to-moderate exercise intensities.
Meta-analyses report non-significant effects of music and acute exercise on attention allocation, inhibitory control, and core affect. A meta-regression pooling 18 effect sizes from nine studies suggested that higher exercise intensities and older mean participant age were associated with smaller effects of music and explained a substantial proportion of between-study variance, although residual heterogeneity remained high and these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
A descriptive subgroup analysis showed a decreasing pattern across exercise intensities (low: g = 3.99; moderate: g = 0.99; high: g = 0.28), though substantial heterogeneity persisted, and the reported effects do not appear to generalize consistently across studies.
Discussion:
The current synthesised evidence appears inconclusive regarding music’s influence on executive functions and affective responses during acute exercise.
