Whistle While You Work Out

Do your treadmill sessions drone on like C-Span? Instead, think MTV and crank up some tunes. A new study from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia confirmed that listening to your favorite music will help you push harder in your workouts. Men who listened to music while going hard on an exercise bike for 10 minutes pedaled 11 percent farther than those who listened to silence or static for the same amount of time.

Music Makes the People Come Together

Science has backed up what anyone who has ever worked out with an iPod may have guessed: Listening to music makes exercise more fun, and that can help you stick to your routine. "Music inspires movement," says Costas Karageorghis, PhD, a sports psychologist at Brunel University in London. "Like smell, it can penetrate areas of the brain that language alone doesn't reach." In fact, research has shown that synchronizing the speed of music with exercise gets people to train harder.

In his latest study, Karageorghis compared participants' heart rates with the number of beats in music and found that matching the tempo to workout intensity mattered most for those who exercised the most strenuously. But you don't have to be training for a marathon to tailor your playlist to your workout. Choose inspirational, upbeat songs such as "The Best" by Tina Turner or "Spring" from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons for your warm-up and fast tracks with driving rhythms for the main part of your workout; Karageorghis likes Michael Jackson songs and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, whereas Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie has set world records by running while listening to John Larkin's "Scatman."

Burn some Beethoven

In a 2004 study at the University of California at San Diego, researchers irritated people by giving them a difficult task then nudging them to go faster. Afterward, the subjects listened to classical music, jazz, pop, or total silence. Silence was least calming--their blood pressure spiked almost 11 points. Jazz and pop relieved stress a bit more. But the BP of the classical-music listeners rose only 2 points. We suggest this starter kit: Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites; Beethoven's Concerto for Violin in D; Brahms's Violin Concerto in D, op. 77; and Mozart's symphonies 35 through 41.

Soothe the Savage Back

Cranking your favorite music may help eliminate back pain. In a study of 65 people who'd been hospitalized for chronic lower-back pain, researchers found that men who relaxed and listened to music for 25 minutes a day slept better and had less pain than men who didn't listen to music.

Listen for Calm

When you're anticipating a stressful situation--a performance review with the boss, a big presentation--listen to music while preparing. An Australian study found that music (specifically, Pachelbel's Canon in D) prevented stress-related reactions--spikes in heart rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels--in people preparing for an oral presentation. Those who prepared in silence had significant increases in all measures.

Beat It

Despite graphic evidence to the contrary--Keith Moon, John Bonham--drumming has proven health benefits. A recent study found that when staffers in a high-burnout industry participated in drumming sessions, they experienced a 50 percent improvement in mood that continued for at least 6 weeks. The people in this study also reported a decrease in fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Pick up a pair of sticks at the music store, crank up Live at Leeds, and slam away the day's stress.

Head Banger

Next time you have a song stuck in your head, blame your auditory cortex, not Beyonce....Dartmouth College researchers scanned the brain activity of people listening to music recordings containing gaps of silence. When participants knew the song, the auditory cortex stayed active during the gaps, as though "the music is playing in your head," says researcher David Kraemer, a graduate student in cognitive neuroscience. To exercise a song, try listening to it, then playing it all the way through in your mind.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Listening to soft music for 45 minutes before bedtime can slow breathing and heart rates, helping you drift off faster and slumber soundly according to a Case Western Reserve University study.

配乐健身有好处

你在踏车运动时是否觉得象在收听C-Span电台那么枯燥？若然，不妨考虑放点MTV，或播放几首曲子试试。最近弗吉尼亚州的汉普敦－悉尼学院开展的一项研究证实：在健身运动期间听听自己最喜欢的音乐有助于加大运动量。骑车进行大运动量锻炼的男子，如能在运动期间听10分钟音乐，骑车距离要比听不到音乐的男子多11％。

音乐健身更专注

任何喜欢在运动期间同时听iPod的人似乎都有一种感觉：听音乐可令运动更有意思，从而有助于将运动进行到底。科学研究也证实这一点。伦敦布鲁内尔大学运动心理学家科斯塔斯·卡拉吉奥吉斯博士说：“音乐有激发运动的功效。音乐和气味一样，可以渗透到人脑的某些区域，这些区域一般语言是渗透不到的。”事实上，有研究表明，若能让音乐的节拍与动作节奏同步，就能让人加大运动量。

卡拉吉奥吉斯最近做了一项实验，他对参加实验者的心率和音乐节拍之间的关系做了对比分析，结果发现：运动强度与音乐节拍比较协调的健身者，其健身运动往往都是最卖力的。不过，你也大可不必为了健身而刻意设计自己的播放清单，搞得象进行马拉松训练那么隆重。热身的时候，可选一些欢快一点的唤醒式音乐，如蒂娜特纳的《精选专辑》或维瓦尔第《四季》系列中的《春天》专辑；真正开始健身运动之后，大部分时间都可播放一些节奏快而有力的歌曲。卡拉吉奥吉斯自己就比较喜欢迈克尔·杰克逊的歌和詹姆士·布朗的《有了你》，而埃塞俄比亚长跑运动员格布雷塞拉西在比赛期间一边跑一边听着约翰·拉金的《斯卡曼》，已经创造了好几项世界记录。

录制考虑贝多芬

2004年，圣叠戈加州大学科研人员做了一项实验，他们让受试者从事一些高难度的作业，并不断催促他们做快点，再快点，直到把受试者搞得心烦意乱大发脾气为止。然后把他们分成4组，分别听古典音乐、爵士乐、流行歌曲或者什么都不听。实验结果是：安静环境对于平静心情的作用最差——受试者的血压几乎升高11个百分点；爵士乐和流行歌曲的作用稍高一点；而听贝多芬古典音乐的受试者血压只升高了2个百分点。我们建议开始试用此法的音乐套装为：巴赫的《无伴奏大提琴组曲》6首；贝多芬D大调小提琴协奏曲；勃拉姆斯D大调小提琴协奏曲，作品77号；以及莫扎特第35～41号交响曲。

腰酸背痛音乐治

播放最喜欢的音乐还有助于舒缓各种腰背疼痛症。在一项有65名因慢性下腰痛疾而需要接受住院治疗的病人参加的研究中，科研人员发现，那些能够放松下来每天听25分钟音乐的病人，其睡眠效果要比不听音乐的病人好一些，病痛也要轻一些。

平心静气音乐好

准备从事一些压力较大的工作之前，例如准备接受老板对你的业务考核或准备大型业务报告之前，可以边听音乐边准备。澳大利亚有一项研究发现，音乐（特别是帕赫贝尔的D大调卡侬曲）对那些准备演讲的人具有防止出现各种与情绪压力有关的应激反应的作用，可缓解演讲者出现心率加快、血压升高、皮质醇水平升高等现象。那些演讲前不听音乐的人，上述指标均明显升高。

敲敲打打有好处

打击乐对身体健康也有好处（不过也有相反看法，如凯斯·穆恩和约翰·本哈姆提供的证据就很有意思）。最近有人开展一项研究，办法是让高体力消耗行业的员工参加打击乐健身，结果有50％（的人）情绪得到改善，且持续至少6周之久。参与研究的受试者也说疲劳感、焦虑感及压抑感都有所减缓。建议你去乐器店买上一对节拍器，回家后播放《活力里兹》摇滚乐，然后尽情地敲打去吧，把一天的压力尽数释放掉。

摇头晃脑也放松

你什么时候觉得头脑中总有某一首歌曲挥之不去，那都是大脑听觉皮层“惹的祸”，而不是碧昂斯的歌声多么有穿透力。达特茅斯学院的科研人员让受试者听音乐，音乐与音乐之间留出一段无音空间，然后对受试者的脑电波进行扫描，结果是：如果受试者听到的是熟悉的歌曲，那么在无音时段，他们的脑电波仍然保持活跃，感觉就象脑子里还在播放着刚刚听过的歌曲，认知神经科学专业研究生大卫·克雷默如是说。如果你希望学唱某一首歌，你可以先试听一遍，然后在心里一直“播放” 下去。

轻柔舒缓好睡觉

凯斯西储大学的一份研究报告表明：睡觉前，听一听柔和的催眠曲45分钟，有利于放慢心率和呼吸频率，这样有助于快点入睡，而且也睡得香甜。