Can music help you sleep?

Why Does Music Affect Sleep?

Research has shown that soothing background noises can reduce stress and result in improved sleep quality. This is because sound waves can trigger electrical signals in the brain and regulate the levels of hormones in the body.

Soothing calm music to be specific, increase levels of dopamine and serotonin in our brain. Dopamine is a hormone that controls pleasurable sensations and learning functions, while serotonin is a hormone that stabilizes our mood, particularly our feelings of well-being and happiness. These triggers enhance one’s mood, uplifting any feelings of anxiety before bedtime.

How does music affect different aspects of your body?

Music not only controls certain hormone production by triggering electrical signals in the brain but also controls other aspects that are essential for long healthy sleep. 

Let’s take heartbeat rates for example, by calming your mind and body, relaxing sleep music can slow down your breathing, lower your heart rate, and reduce your blood pressure. Music does all this by increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which conserves and restores your body’s energy.All in preparation for mental and physical rest.

The Benefits of Music for Sleep

Clearly, music plays an important role in sleep levels, but what are the benefits of actually having better sleep?

One study found that participants who listened to music before taking a nap had a longer duration in the deep sleep stage, which is essential for memory consolidation. Aside from this, music also positively improved overall subjective sleep quality.

Similar studies have proven that classical music for sleep resulted in improvements in global sleep quality over time. These covered all components of sleep quality including sleep latency, sleep duration, perceived sleep quality, sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, and sleep-aiding medication.

So it is clear that there is a lot to benefit from listening to the right type of music before you sleep, let’s now find out how you can incorporate music into your sleep schedule. 

Adding Music to your Sleep Routine

As part of healthy sleep hygiene and habits, creating a calm and relaxing environment before bed can help you reap these positive benefits and get a good night’s rest.

Before going to bed, take the time to play calming sleep music in the background for 20-60 minutes for the best results.

Different software and apps have a collection of relaxing nature sounds, classical music, or scientifically based brain-wave music that can help aid sleep.

Here are 5 soothing songs and playlists that may help you fall asleep at night:

• Love Song by Lana del Rey
• Clair de Lune by Debussy
• Weightless, by Marconi Union
• Nature sounds
• Deep Sleep

Alternatively, if possible, get your partner to sing you to sleep. It will most likely not work but it will be fun 😉