# Impact of Music Selection on Motivation and Performance during Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing
## 4 Discussion
Duration of the test was significantly higher in students than in recreational athletes when tested without music. Considering that there was no difference in the duration of the test between groups when testing while listening to synchronized motivational music, it could be assumed that music had a slightly greater positive effect on duration of the test in the group of recreational athletes. Peak VO2 was significantly higher in students than in recreational athletes when tested while listening to synchronized motivational music. Considering that there was no difference in peak VO2 between groups during the test without music, it could be assumed that music had a greater positive effect on peak VO2 in the group of students. The above two results are contradictory, so it is difficult to explain them. We can assume that music did not have a different effect on the two groups of participants, especially in light of the fact that these are the only two variables in which the two groups of participants differ (out of a total of 28 variables: 14 when tested without music and 14 with music). Thus H3 (greater effect of music will be shown in recreational athletes compared to students) is rejected. Unfortunately, as far as we know, there are no studies that compared groups of subjects similar to this, so we do not have data with which we could compare the results of this study. RPE testing showed that participants felt significantly less exertion when testing with music at the beginning of the test and especially at the VT2 (Figure 3A,B and Table 3). At the end of the test, at maximum exertion, RPE still had a lower value when testing with music than without (Figure 3C), but statistical significance was not reached. A short interview was conducted with each subject after both tests, with questions regarding their overall impression of the test. Participants reported feeling more pleasant, that time passed more quickly, and that the testing was easier with music. It can be concluded that as the load and fatigue increased, so did the perceived exertion, but participants felt the increase in exertion less and tolerated it more easily under conditions of testing with music. Previous research findings show varying results in subjective exertion. In some studies, RPE remained unchanged in all testing conditions [40; 42; 43], while in others, it was lower in conditions of exercise with applying motivational music and even in conditions of neutral music [44]. Significantly longer test duration was recorded under motivational music conditions (Figure 1F). Considering test duration as an indirect indicator of fatigue, we can conclude that participants fatigued more slowly and showed greater endurance under conditions of testing with motivational music. The obtained results are consistent with the results of previous research. In the aforementioned studies, the results showed that testing lasted longer, and participants covered a greater distance in motivational conditions compared to non-motivational and control conditions [40; 42; 44]. Additionally, studies that tested walking speed as a measure of endurance for a certain time or distance showed that participants moved significantly faster when exposed to any music condition compared to the control intervention, with musical conditions also being associated with a higher state of motivation, i.e., they swam faster [45] and cycled 10 km faster with music, even while anticipating its playback [43]. As the cardiopulmonary exercise test represents a certain stress for the organism and leads to changes in the levels of stress hormones [46], in future research, it would be significant to see if there is a difference in the levels of these hormones under conditions of testing with and without music, precisely because of the different processes, physiological and psychological, that occur in the body, both during exertion and while listening to music.