The Effect of Rhythms of Music on Central and Peripheral Fatigue Indices in Non-Athlete Young Females

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different rhythms of music on some central and peripheral fatigue indices in non-athlete young females. For this purpose, 38 healthy female students were randomly divided into three groups: fast music group or EXP1 (N=13, M+SD age: 22+2 years), slow music group or EXP2 (N=13, M+SD age: 23+2 years) and control group (N=12,M+SD age: 23+2 years). At first, pretest was performed under the same condition as the training condition; then, training program was performed for six weeks, two sessions per week and finally posttest was performed. The training program included pedaling on an ergometer until exhaustion. The experimental groups listened to music by headphones while training; control group received no musical intervention. Results of finger tapping test showed no noticeable difference in peripheral fatigue between experimental groups and control group. The results of chart for continual naming of colors test confirmed the central fatigue in control group compared with fast and slow music groups. Data analysis by one-way ANOVA showed no significant differences in fatigue indices among the three groups in the pretest (P>0.05). But in the posttest, workload of exhaustion (p=0.022) among groups was significant. Tukey post hoc test showed a significant difference in all variables between experimental groups and control group (P<0.05) while this difference was not significant between experimental groups (P>0.05). Generally, it can be concluded that music together with training delays central and peripheral fatigue and finally improves sport performance.