Although music stimulates motivation, running with headphones can drown out bodily cues, disrupt running rhythm through unconscious synchronization with the tempo, and pose safety risks. The ideal alternative is to try listening to podcasts, which do not impact one's stride in the same way.

noli's read

Research broadly supports the stimulating effect of music on motivation and the reduction of perceived exertion, as confirmed by a meta-analysis by Karageorghis et al. (2020) published in the Psychological Bulletin. This 'dissociation' phenomenon helps to ignore fatigue but can effectively disconnect the runner from their bodily cues. Furthermore, experimental work in biomechanics (such as that from Ghent University) shows that our bodies have a natural tendency to synchronize stride with musical tempo, which can disrupt optimal cadence or breathing. The proposed podcast alternative is clever: speech flow lacks a regular rhythm and does not induce this forced motor synchronization, even if it remains a source of attentional distraction. Although the 'dependency' aspect is based more on field observations than clinical studies, this advice as a whole rests on very solid physiological and cognitive foundations.

the sources

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