The effect of music on endurance performance: study with females with Down syndrome

Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of self-selected music in an endurance test in females with Down syndrome. Methods: Twenty-three women with Down syndrome (DS), recruited from Special Schools (SSPI) with a mean age of 25.5 years old, participated in this study. Testing consisted of three trials of a walking/running mile. The first trial was performed without music (WM), the second trial with Fast Tempo Music (FTM), and the third trial with Slow Tempo Music (STM). The following dependent variables were selected: time expenditure and heart rate at progressive distances (400, 800, 1200, and 1609 meters). The comparison between trials and moments was made by the t-test of independent measures. The level of statistical significance was set as α = 0.05. Results: FTM, except 400m, decreased significantly (p<0.05) time expenditure for all the moments of the walking/running test when compared with WM, and STM trials. WM and STM promoted similar results in performance. FTM achieved a higher HR peak when compared to STM. FTM and STM, starting from different heart rate peaks, had similar heart rate recovery. Conclusion: It can be concluded that adding preferential FTM to exercise could be an economical, accessible, and effective strategy to motivate and arouse female with DS, improving their aerobic performance.