Music = Performance Enhancing Drug?
A number of sources are reporting on a Baltimore Sun story pointing out that Olympic athletes in Torino are acting as unwitting billboards for Apple’s iPod. Most interesting is the fact that the athletes have not only been using the device as they train and prepare to compete but also are, in some cases, wearing the devices as they’re competing.
I have to wonder, given the known effect that music has on the brain, couldn’t this count as a “performance enhancing drug”?
It comes to a point where somebody’s intrinsic motivation to succeed could be called a performance enhancing drug, since their biochemistry is clearly out of whack.
In the end, a world class athletic performance requires intense focus and while music may help some achieve that focus, it may do the contrary for others. Some people need to hear the sounds of the snow, etc. to really be “in the zone.” Maybe those should be forced to wear earplugs?