Changes in boredom and affect during 10 minutes of exercise with music or aroma
Abstract
Study aim
Shortening the duration of exercise sessions to reduce boredom may enhance the psychological benefits of exercise when combined with music or aroma stimuli. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of music or aromatic stimuli during a 10-min exercise session.
Material and methods
Forty-eight healthy young adults participated in a randomized repeated-measures experiment involving four conditions: GR (listening to a groovy drum pattern), GREX (clapping and marching in place to a groovy rhythm), PM (exposure to peppermint aroma), or PMEX (clapping and marching in place with peppermint aroma). Baseline physical condition and vitality-related mood were assessed. Physiological and psychological measures were recorded throughout the 10-min session.
Results
Boredom increased significantly over the 10-min period across all conditions (p < 0.001), with increases beginning at the 3-min mark in the exercise conditions. Baseline vitality mood was negatively correlated with the degree of boredom increase (r = −0.35, p < 0.001). Furthermore, as boredom increased, levels of fun (r = −0.31, p = 0.001) and clear-headedness (r = −0.24, p = 0.01) decreased.
Conclusion
Overall, boredom began to increase within 3 min of initiating exercise combined with music or aroma and continued to increase over time. This increase was associated with lower baseline vitality, reduced positive affect, and lower arousal during the intervention. Future research should examine whether shortening exercise sessions to ≤3 min, and optimizing baseline vitality mood can reduce boredom and enhance psychological benefits.
© 2026 Takemune Fukuie, Koshiro Inoue, Masahiro Okamoto, Akihiko Yamaguchi, Hideaki Soya, published by University of Physical Education in Warsaw
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