By Nina C Zimmermann

For many joggers, listening to music while running is part and parcel of the exercise, making what can sometimes be a boring ritual into a much more enjoyable experience.

According to Herbert Loellgen, president of the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention, music acts as an incentive to run in many cases.

Jogging without music is almost unthinkable for some runners although experts recommend that on occasion the exercise be completed without wearing earphones.

"There are people who need music as a motivation or a distraction and only then are they perhaps in a position to complete their running route," says Uschi Moriabadi from the German College for Health Management and Prevention in Saarbruecken.

There has been little scientific research carried out as to whether music is a help or a hindrance while running but Moriabadi believes that people can run for longer while listening to their favourite music and following its rhythm.

"Playing music along a marathon course would also act as a stimulation," says Loellgen.

"My experience in marathons has generally been neutral. By this I mean that having music groups along the route does not change anything unless the musical rhythm chimes with the running rhythm."

The crux is how many beats per minute (bpm) there are in the music and whether they correlate with the runner's heartbeat, according to a study carried out by sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis from the Brunel University in Uxbridge, England.

"That means between 110 and 130 beats per minute," explains Loellgen.

In this way, the runner's running rhythm stabilizes and increases performance.