Five small crossover studies (88 participants) gave very low certainty evidence on combined caffeine and music during exercise; PACES estimates favoured the combination, but RPE, Feeling Scale and heart-rate results varied widely, and no firm recommendations can be made.
Key Findings
Results
The review identified only five randomized crossover studies with 88 participants in total that tested combined caffeine and music during exercise.
Databases searched were PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, from inception to 10 June 2026.
Eligible studies compared caffeine plus music with placebo plus no music, caffeine alone, or music alone.
The studies were conducted in different populations and experimental settings.
Because fewer than 10 independent studies were available, meta-regression and formal assessment of small-study effects were not undertaken.
Results
Study-specific rating of perceived exertion (RPE) estimates were inconsistent across studies.
Estimates "varied from large reductions to estimates close to the null or in the opposite direction."
RPE was one of four outcomes assessed (RPE, PACES, FS, HR).
Results
Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) point estimates favoured the combined intervention, but their magnitudes differed substantially between comparators.
The magnitudes differed in comparisons with placebo plus no music versus caffeine alone.
The authors state study-specific findings "suggest possible improvements in exercise enjoyment."
Results
Feeling Scale (affective valence) and heart-rate findings varied across studies without a consistent pattern.
Findings were synthesized descriptively by outcome and comparator, considering study-specific effect estimates, confidence intervals, and experimental conditions.
The authors conclude that perceived exertion, affective valence, and heart-rate responses vary across studies.
Results
Heterogeneity in all four primary meta-analyses was extremely high.
All four primary meta-analyses showed I2 values exceeding 90%.
Random-effects meta-analyses were retained only as secondary exploratory summaries.
Neither descriptive nor pooled estimates establish a stable, broadly applicable magnitude of benefit.
Conclusions
Certainty of evidence was very low for all primary outcomes.
The evidence comprises five small crossover studies in different populations and settings.
Given this, the authors state that no firm recommendations can be made on using caffeine combined with music across exercise populations and settings.
Conclusions
The authors call for further adequately powered studies with clearly specified interventions and comparable outcome assessments.
The aim is to determine which responses are reproducible and practically meaningful.
What This Means
This review looked at whether listening to music while taking caffeine makes exercise feel easier, more enjoyable, or more pleasant than either alone or neither. Only five small studies, with 88 participants in total, met the criteria. Each used a design in which the same people tried several conditions.
The results were mixed. Exercise enjoyment tended to be higher with the combination in the individual studies, but the size of the difference varied a lot. How hard exercise felt, how good people felt during it, and heart rate differed from study to study, with some studies showing large benefits and others showing little or no effect. Pooling the results was not very informative, because the studies differed so much from one another.
This research suggests that combining caffeine and music may possibly make exercise more enjoyable, but the evidence is very weak. The studies were few, small, and varied in populations and methods, so the review could not establish how large any benefit is or whether it applies broadly. The authors say larger, more consistent studies are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.
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Zhang Q, Xu H, Mo J, Wang F, Gao X, Zhou C, et al.. (2026). Effects of Combined Music and Caffeine on Psychophysiological Responses During Exercise: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis.. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18203441