Effects of musical tempo on human thermal comfort during interval exercise

Abstract

Compared to steady-state exercise, thermal comfort during interval exercise varies. Moreover, research on the effects of musical tempo on subjective thermal perception, emotional state, and physiological responses in individuals performing interval exercise remains limited. Based on this, 22 participants were recruited for this study to simulate a gym environment within a climate chamber. The K5 metabolic analyzer combined with questionnaires was used to monitor the subjective responses and physiological parameters of participants during exercise, analyzing the effect of musical tempo on thermal comfort during interval exercise. Furthermore, by externalizing different tempos of music during the exercise phases of the experiment, participants' emotional states were induced to be either pleasant (positive) or boring (negative). The no-music working condition served as a control group for this experiment with no emotional induction. The research results indicate that music tempo affects the subjective thermal response, physiological response, and emotional state of the exercising population, with this influence showing clear differences and patterns. Notably, Regardless of the music tempo, the emotional index (MI) exhibited strong negative correlations with thermal sensation votes (TSV) (r = -0.76, -0.93), metabolic rate (MR) (r = -0.91, -0.95), and heart rate (HR) (r = -0.92, -0.94) across two exercise intensities. Based on these findings, a more adaptive PMV improvement model (PMV*) was developed using correlation analysis and regression fitting. This study provides important insights for the design of personalized exercise environments.