Abstract
It has been shown that music therapy helps to alleviate tension and reduce psychological fatigue. However, it is not clear what the influence is of the rhythm of the music on the recovery from exercise induced psychological fatigue. Thirty national level athletes participated in this study and were randomized to one of three groups: a control group without music therapy; a slow rhythm group (60-80 beats/min); and a fast rhythm group that listened to the same music but with the rhythm digitally altered to be twice as fast. The two music therapy groups listened for 30 minutes per day for one week. Prior to the treatment and at the end of the week the following dependent variables were collected: athlete burnout questionnaire, choice reaction time, critical flicker frequency, and arithmetic calculation capacity. Results showed differential effects between the perception of psychological fatigue and the physiological evidence of fatigue. The slow rhythm group showed no changes in the athlete burnout questionnaire, however the fast rhythm group showed a trend towards a reduction in this score. Choice reaction time decreased and calculation ability increased for both music therapy groups. The critical flicker frequency improved and the calculation errors decreased for the slow rhythm group only. This suggests a physiological advantage for slow music as a method of recovery from psychological fatigue. These results are interpreted in an action/perception dissociation framework.
