Should you jog while listening to music?

The habit of jogging and listening to music at the same time helps you to enjoy melodious tunes and train your muscles at the same time. But is this habit really completely harmless?

The use of headphones when jogging is probably not a strange image in the way of training for many people. According to a survey conducted by Runner’s World in 2016, about 61% of runners said that they use headphones during exercise. Of which, 82% often listen to their favorite music.

Here is a summary of the good and bad sides of running while listening to music that you can consider to improve the quality of your workout.

Benefits of running while listening to music

Researchers have proven that the habit of listening to music can energize you and increase excitement during running.

1. Running while listening to music creates energy

Physical activity, especially at the end of the day, can make you tired and less likely to want to do anything else. There will be days when you need some extra motivation and a playlist of your favorite songs can be the source of your energy.

Costas Karageorghis, a sports expert who studies the effects of music on athletes, believes that catchy tunes will help lift the mood. At that time, even though you have to face fatigue during exercise, you still have plenty of energy to continue. Research from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research also agrees with this idea, saying that listening to music before running will help you prepare psychologically to exercise better.

Deciding what kind of music to listen to is also very important. It is recommended that you choose a slow song when starting to run uphill. Start by taking the time to pick out a playlist of your favorite songs to get inspired during your workout.

2. Running while listening to music helps keep the pace of exercise

Many people when running do not like to wear headphones when exercising, instead, they want to focus on indicators such as breathing rate and steps to control the running pace. In fact, music can still help you track the intensity of your workout very well.

According to a recent study conducted by PLOS One, many athletes often perform better when listening to music that is suitable for the training tempo. Experts suggest that you should listen to fast-paced music of 120 beats per minute when doing high-intensity exercises. Conversely, music less than 120 beats per minute will be appropriate if it is a gentle exercise.

You can learn more: 10 benefits of listening to music that may surprise you

3. Running while listening to music increases endurance

According to a study conducted at Keele University (UK), playing your favorite tunes while exercising can reduce fatigue and help increase the feeling of “in tune”. Music is an external factor that really helps prevent negative factors from within, including fatigue.

When the athlete feels the fatigue decrease, the runs will become more energetic. If you need more motivation to complete heavy exercises, choose your favorite music and listen to music for a better workout. According to a new study, high-intensity running exercises still feel full of energy after listening to favorite music.

Jogging has many health benefits, while music helps to make running easier. This also puts your mind in tune with physical activity.

Harm when you jog while listening to music

Here are some obvious harms of running while listening to music that you need to consider.

1. Running while listening to music is dangerous

One of the main reasons you should leave your headphones at home while running is for your own safety. Wearing headphones can make you not feel the things happening around. Especially when you are jogging in the driveway, headphones will prevent you from hearing the horns and the risk of an accident on the road.

If you listen to music for a long time, you won’t be able to hear an approaching car or have someone else warn you of approaching danger. In case you have to practice running in crowded traffic places, it is best not to use music headphones at all.

2. Running while listening to music makes you dependent

As noted above, music can help regulate the tempo of your workout, but don’t always carry headphones with you. Therefore, you cannot depend on music to regulate the intensity of your workout.

When you have become dependent on music and because of some circumstances cannot maintain the practice with music, you will start to feel sluggish. Your body has developed a perception that music and exercise go together, so without music, you may find your motivation to exercise diminished.

3. Running while listening to music reduces the running experience

In today’s society, technology is almost everywhere. Therefore, exercise can be considered a rare time for you to leave technology devices. This is also a way to change the atmosphere when at this time, you will only focus on doing one thing, which is exercise.

When you’re jogging and listening to music, you’ll have to do two things at the same time, which means you will go back to multitasking mode (doing many things at once) like working at the office.

The habit of jogging while listening to music must have become an indispensable experience in your training process. However, you also need to consider a few other factors to decide if you should listen to music while jogging. Once you have found a suitable exercise plan, try to do the right running to exercise in the best way for you.

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