Need a workout boost? Skip the energy drink and try headphones instead!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Scientific evidence shows that music can help you push through a workout. But could listening to your favorite tunes make you go EVEN HARDER?
Andrew Danso and team from University of Jyväskylä put thirty adults to the test. They each completed cycling exercises, half in silence and half listening to their own playlists.
Both groups exerted the same amount of effort during the workout. Guess who cycled for over TWENTY PERCENT longer? The music listeners!
It’s clear, your favorite music lets you go harder for longer. Me, I’ll put on some lullabies, get a power nap.
Andrew Danso, Jasmin C. Hutchinson, Vesa Laatikainen-Raussi, Bianca J. De Lucia, Tomi Vänttinen, Kady Long, Elia Burbidge, Simon Walker, Johanna K. Ihalainen, Geoff Luck. Feel the beat, not the burn: Effects of self-selected music in time-to-exhaustion cycling. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2026; 85: 103116 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103116