Music and athletic performance

A 2020 meta-analysis of 139 exercise and sport studies found beneficial average associations for affect, physical performance, and perceived exertion. The performance effect was larger in exercise studies than in sport studies.

That distinction matters. A result pooled across exercise and sport does not prove that a particular athlete will compete better with music, or that music improves every outcome. The review found no statistically significant overall effect on heart rate.

Terry and colleagues, “Effects of music in exercise and sport: A meta-analytic review,” Psychological Bulletin (2020).

Athletes often use music as part of preparation: to raise energy, settle attention, or establish a familiar routine. The appropriate choice depends on the athlete and the task ahead.

The research above concerns measured responses during exercise and sport. It should not be stretched into a claim that a specific pregame song causes a win. A recent review of preferred music reports favorable average psychological outcomes, while also underscoring variation among studies and contexts.

“Effects of preferred music listening on physical and psychological parameters in sports,” systematic review and meta-analysis (2025).

Music can change the experience of exertion. The 2020 review found a favorable average result for perceived exertion, but it does not show that every task or athlete benefits equally.

Focus is a separate question. Lyrics, tempo, familiarity, and timing may be helpful or distracting in different settings. Athletes can test their own preparation routines without treating a single playlist as a universal prescription.

Music may be useful in an athlete's recovery routine, but listening behavior alone cannot establish faster physiological recovery or improved subsequent performance.

Use “recovery” here to describe a chosen post-effort state or routine. Physiological recovery claims require dedicated outcome measures and studies, not an inference from what someone played.

CHRP reads a consenting person's music listening behavior to provide a private EPI Score™ and music-based next steps. Organizations receive anonymous aggregate trends only.

That is how CHRP is built. The studies cited above concern music in exercise and sport; they do not validate CHRP's proprietary score or prove that CHRP improves athletic results. See the evidence and limits, how CHRP reads state, and the category definition.

For your own private music insight, explore MyCHRP. Coaches can see the team application.