What's the difference if you can run in the gym for another 50 seconds?
If you are less than a minute away from the top of the mountain or the finish line, then this time will make you feel extremely excited when you reach your goal.
But how do you get this extra energy? A research team from the Health Science Center of Texas Tech University conducted a study to measure the effect of listening to lively music on exercise endurance during the heart stress test. Doctors often use these tests to evaluate patients' heart health. As part of the test, the researchers measured changes in heart rate and blood pressure.
The test is usually conducted on a treadmill, following a specific protocol, in which the treadmill increases at two speeds and passes the three-minute and three-minute stage tests. In the final stage, the treadmill increased by 14% at a speed of 3.4 miles per hour. Most of these tests can last for 20 minutes. It lasts 7-8 minutes on average.
In this study, they divided 127 participants (both with diabetes and hypertension) into two groups. One person listens to music at a fast pace, while another person listens to music, but can't hear it.
The team listening to music can surpass the group not listening to music at an average speed of 50.6 seconds. Of course, spending one more minute may not seem like much, but "after six minutes, you will feel that you are climbing a mountain, so even if you can extend it by 50 seconds, it will mean a lot," said Dr. Wasim Misha, the first author of the study.
Hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity, which lack daily activities, are the main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, that is, any exercise that can increase the heart rate by 50-60% compared with the resting heart rate. This may mean everything from walking, swimming and cycling to dancing, gardening and even housework.
Misha said: "Our findings reinforce the view that optimistic music has a synergistic effect, which makes you want to exercise longer and stick to your daily exercise."
"When doctors suggest exercise, they may suggest listening to music."