Music and Caffeine Intake Effects on Gait, and Its Relationship with Psychological Parameters, in Middle-Aged Women.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the combined effects of caffeine intake and listening to music on walking parameters, and its relationship with psychological variables (fatigue and exercise enjoyment) in middle-aged women.

Patients and methods: Sixteen healthy middle-aged women, aged between 50 and 60 years old, participated in this study. Their walking parameters (distance, number of steps, steps number/minute, cadence and walking speed) were assessed using the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) in four task conditions: in no-music/no-caffeine, no-music/with caffeine, with music/no-caffeine, and with music/with caffeine conditions. Besides, exercise enjoyment and fatigue were evaluated using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES-8) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) questionnaires, respectively.

Results: As a result, we found that 100 mg of caffeine intake significantly (p < 0.05) improved walking parameters such as distance, cadence and number of steps during both simple (p < 0.05) and dual-task, while listening to preferred music, where optimal results were found (p < 0.01) with a large effect size (η2p >0.14). Listening to music was sufficient to significantly improve the distance (p < 0.001), cadence (p < 0.001), and walking speed (p < 0.05) values. Besides, both caffeine intake and/or listening to music significantly (p < 0.05 with large effect size (η2p >0.14)) decreased the feeling of fatigue and increased exercise enjoyment while walking in healthy middle-aged women.

Conclusion: In conclusion, caffeine intake seems to positively influence gait capacities, and its combined effects with listening to music, mainly preferred ones, would boost these beneficial effects in middle-aged women.