Does music counteract mental fatigue? A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Sports Science

Background:

• Mental fatigue, induced by sustained cognitive tasks, impairs cognitive and physical performance.
• Existing fatigue countermeasures have limitations, necessitating accessible strategies like music.
• Music's effectiveness in mitigating mental fatigue varies by style, requiring systematic analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically analyze music styles' effectiveness in counteracting mental fatigue.
• To assess music's impact on cognitive and physical performance decrements.
• To explore the mechanisms through which music alleviates mental fatigue.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across five databases up to November 2023.
• Inclusion of studies solely on music interventions and their effects on fatigue and performance.
• Analysis of subjective fatigue, physiological markers, and cognitive/behavioral performance outcomes.

Main Results:

• Nine studies indicated that relaxing, exciting, and personal preference music reduce subjective fatigue and alter physiological markers.
• Exciting music enhanced cognitive performance (inhibition, working memory) more than relaxing music, evidenced by increased steady-state visually evoked potential-based brain-computer interface (SSVEP-BCI) amplitude.
• Personal preference music counteracted behavioral decrements in motor control and endurance tasks.

Conclusions:

• Relaxing, exciting, and personal preference music are effective in counteracting mental fatigue and performance decrements.
• Exciting music shows superior efficacy over relaxing music for cognitive tasks.
• Personal preference music is effective for physical performance recovery and endurance tasks, with future research needed on specific music parameters and contexts.