Music and sports performance. How does music affect athletes? What does the science say? Is music a “type of legal, performance-enhancing drug”? Research has shown listening to music while exercising can reduce an athlete’s rate of perceived effort. What does this mean exactly? Does the tempo have an impact? Why did USA Track & Field “ban the use of headphones and portable audio players” at its official races back in 2007? In this episode, we speak with psychologist and behaviour coach, Hamish McMaster. There’s a lot more research into music and sports performance than we thought! This is a fascinating conversation about the role music can play in reaching peak performance.