THE POWER OF MUSIC

More than 7,000 runners who raced in a half-marathon in London in October 2008 were under the influence of a scientifically derived and powerful performance-enhancing stimulant – pop music.

The dance-able, upbeat music at London's "Run to the Beat" race was selected on the basis of the research and consultation of sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in England. He has learned how to devise soundtracks that are just as powerful, if not more so, as some of the not-so-legal substances that athletes commonly take to excel.

"Music is a great way to regulate mood both before and during physical activity. A lot of athletes use music as if it's a legal drug," Karageorghis said. "They can use it as a stimulant or as a sedative. Generally speaking, loud upbeat music has a stimulating effect and slow music reduces arousal."

The link between music and athletic performance is just one example of the inroads scientists and doctors are making into understanding the amazing power that music has over our minds and bodies. Science is backing up our intuition and experience, showing that music really does kill pain, reduce stress, better our brains and basically change how we experience life.

Here are some of the benefits: Studies have concluded that music…

• Can greatly reduce anxiety of patients awaiting surgery
• Reduces the need for sedation during surgery
• Significantly lowered the heart rates and calmed and regulated the blood pressures and respiration rates of patients who had undergone surgery
• Reduces psychological stress, anxiety and depression in pregnant women
• Eases labor pain
• Helps control pain
• Diminishes depression
• Improve mental focus
• Makes you smarter
• Improves motor skills in patients recovering from strokes
• Boosts the immune system
• Creates a feeling of well-being
• Provokes memories, to the point where we don't even have to hear a song. We just think of it and the memories flood in

More about music and workouts

For all you fitness fiends, here is exactly what listening to music does for your workout, according Karageorghis:

• Reduces your perception of how hard you are working by about 10% during low-to-moderate intensity activity. (During high intensity activity, music doesn't work as well because your brain starts screaming at you to pay attention to physiological stress signals).
• Has a profound influence on mood, potentially elevating the positive aspects of mood, such as vigor, excitement and happiness, and reducing depression, tension, fatigue, anger and confusion.
• Can be used to set your pace
• Overcome fatigue and control one’s emotions around competition.

The "Run to the Beat" music was played as runners at the half-marathon event passed by 17 stations, not throughout the 13.1-mile course, because Karageorghis' research shows that music is most effective when we are losing steam, not as a constant stimulus. For the rest of us at the gym or on our morning jogs, he recommends two workouts with music to every one without, so the effect is not dulled.

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