Can Music Make You Fall Asleep In Seconds
We mentioned earlier that some researchers suggest youd need to set aside as much as 45 minutes of listening to music in order to induce sleep. However, many folks dont have that kind of time and may seek out more effective tunes that could help you fall asleep quicker.
During a study, neuroscientists in the U.K. found that the 8-minute song Weightless by Marconi Union led to a 65 percent reduction in overall anxiety among participants and a 35 percent drop in their physiological resting rates. In fact, the participants became so drowsy that they were advised to not listen to the song while driving.
Evolving Science About Music And Health
Interest in musics effects on the body continues to grow, and major research programs are dedicated to uncovering new ways that music can benefit health. For example, in 2017 the National Institutes of Health partnered with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to announce the Sound Health Initiative. This program initiative supports research that focuses on the use of music in health care settings and has already funded several projects.
Choose Music You Enjoy
For starters, an important factor in all the research is that the music you choose should be one that you like and enjoy. This is a good baseline for any music. If you dont like it and enjoy it, why listen?
So now that weve narrowed the choices to what you like and enjoy, lets some additional things youd like to consider.
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What Kind Of Music Helps You Sleep
So, what is the best music to help you sleep?
If you decide that youre going to start using the radio for sleep, should you be tuning into the latest chart toppers, listening to talk shows, or looking for something more classical?
As we mentioned above, the answer to this question can differ depending on your personality. If you dont like classical music, then it might not relax you as much as other people. Youll need to take your personal preferences into account.
If we look at the studies into sleep radios, we find that many people find it easier to fall asleep when listening to talk programs. To some extent, this may be because were already used to the sound of consistent human chatter in our day-to-day lives.
Compared to music, talking can more easily blur into white noise particularly if youre listening to something that youre not 100% involved in.
If you do prefer music, the most obvious choice is something calm and slow. Classical music is a good choice for some, but even certain classical songs have a wide dynamic range , which makes it less relaxing.
To help solve the problem of what kind of music you should listen to while you sleep, a New Zealand radio station host named John Watson launched the very first channel in the area specifically devoted to insomniacs.
Rather than looking to engage and entertain his listeners like most Disc Jockeys, John prides himself on delivering a show that sends his audience to sleep.
How Is Your Body Affected By Music While Sleeping
Listening to music can help you relax because it has a direct effect on the parasympathetic nervous system. This is an essential part of the nervous system that is all to do with controlling the body’s functions for resting and sleep, often called “rest and digest” function. Directly affecting this response will cause you to relax and your body to prepare for sleep.
According to a scientific study, soothing music can reduce stress hormones cortisol and androgens, the part of the nervous system that helps us react to stress known as the” fight or flee” response. Therefore it can help alleviate feelings of anxiety. This means that listening to some types of music can actually alter the body’s hormone levels.
Remarkably the same study found that listening to music can increase plasticity in the brain so it may improve learning capabilities.
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What Are The Benefits Of Listening To Music Before You Sleep
Many people struggle with getting to sleep at night, and the benefit of listening to music is that it can help you get into the sleep zone by relaxing you.
Although we all have a different response to music, listening to familiar much-loved music can improve mood and feelings of wellbeing.
According to studies, listening to music can increase sleep-inducing hormones serotonin and oxytocin.
Physical benefits of listening to music while you go to sleep are that it can reduce heart rate and blood pressure and help you relax muscles.
What Happens If You Go To Sleep Listening To Music
Studies have proved that sleeping with your earphones while listening to music is a health risk and could cause permanent damage. Skin necrosis, Hearing loss, and built-up earwax are a few of the side effects that could happen when you are plugged in.The solution is to sleep with very soft music or a natural sound of nature on a low volume. Headphones should not be worn for prolonged periods of time while sleeping.As long as you choose songs that make you feel happy and relaxed, falling asleep to soft music can help you fall asleep faster and get better sleep. It is similar to when we were children, and our parents sang us lullabies to lull us to sleep.
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A List Of Songs To Help You Sleep
This playlist will help you get some rest when you need it most
Music makes our lives better in many ways. That it can be used to aid in achieving restful sleep should come as no surprise.
The frustration that comes with an inability to sleep is perhaps as bad as the weariness you feel the day after a rough night of tossing and turning. You owe yourself the very best chance at getting a good night’s sleep.
A 2008 study from Budapest’s Semmelweis University showed that classical music can be an effective intervention in reducing sleeping problems.
In recent years we’ve seen a proliferation of talented young composers bringing a modern indie sensibility to traditional classical or art music. It might be harder to sleep than ever these days, at least we have a better soundtrack to help us get there.
Below are a range of calming songs that may help you drift off.
Rather than just bombard you with a list of stunning modern classical pieces from handsome European composers , we’ve also thrown some more straightforward rock and pop music in here as well.
Some people just can’t handle that ambient classical music: you deserve music to help you sleep too!
Obviously, sleeping is about as individual as experience as we can have. These songs aren’t scientifically proven to aid sleep and they might not work for you
But we suggest you try them and let us know if you have any perfect sleeping songs we should try.
The Best Music To Help You Sleep Should Be Something With A Slow And Stable Rhythm Like Classical Or Acoustic
Music to help you sleep should have a slow and stable rhythm , with low-frequency tones and relaxing melodies.
There was a period of time in my life where I listened to the same CD every night as I fell asleep. The gentle songs immediately soothed me into a relaxed state, helping me to fall asleep faster. When I am having trouble sleeping or am in an unfamiliar environment, music helps calm my body and my mind, and it drowns out noises that might otherwise keep me up.
Now scientists have discovered that my strategy works for many other people too. So how does music help you sleep, and what is the best music to help you sleep?
Studies show that people with insomnia and other sleep disorders can benefit significantly from listening to music. If you want to know how to help insomnia in a simple, natural, and enjoyable way, you might want to turn to your favorite, soothing songs.
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Listen To Relaxing Calm Classical Soothing Music Before Bed
Every study we found claimed that calming, classical, relaxing, or soothing music was the best music to listen to at bedtime.
For example, a 2012 study discovered that relaxation music helped traumatized refugees who suffer from sleep problems sleep better. According to the studys Method, 15 traumatized refugees with sleep problems participated in the study. One group, the intervention group, listened to relaxing music that was played at night through a music player in an ergonomic pillow. The control group was only given the ergonomic pillow. Researchers found that the music group had significantly better sleep quality.
And a 2004 study found that older adults also sleep better when listening to soothing music. The study examined 60 people who were aged 60 through 83 years. Every study participant had problems sleeping. The participants listed to their choice of six, 45-minute sedative music tapes at bedtime from 3 weeks. The study discovered that listening to music helped study participants get significantly better sleep quality. Participants also had better perceived sleep quality, longer sleep, less sleep disturbance, and less daytime issues. The study also found that participants sleep improved every week. So, the music had a cumulative dose effect.
From Deep Focus To Deep Sleep
Ive spent much of the last three years exhausted. I had always been a sensitive sleeper and a night owl late nights studying in undergrad and years of pounding the pavement going to concerts. And yet I still found it startling when that propensity for burning the midnight oil shifted to full-blown insomnia.
I tried what felt like every remedy. Peppermint tea. Counting not sheep but things around the room. Reading. Aromatherapy. Progressive muscle relaxation. Guided meditation. Some helped. Some didnt.
Sleep studies ruled out apnea, and I refused to go back to Ambien after waking up in my apartment covered in apple sauce and McDonalds wrappers and the sound of my car running outside.
What has helped in my journey to scoring the ever-elusive eight hours of sleep has been the sounds of ocean waves. The gentle spilling of water on an hours-long loop courtesy of Calmsounds Sleep Waves has tremendously upgraded my sleep health. Along with a regimen of melatonin and an essential dose of cannabis indica .
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The Verdict: Certain Music May Indeed Help You Catch Better Z’s
âYes, there is data that suggests that music can help people fall asleep,â says Michael Breus, Ph.D., upwave sleep expert and author of The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan: Simple Rules for Losing Weight While You Sleep. But the kind of music you choose makes a difference. Music that has a relatively slow beat may help your body hit its internal snooze button. âIf you play Guns ‘N Roses, chances are low that it will put you to sleep,â says Breus.
The music-sleep connection has been supported in studies all over the world. It works in young people and elderly men and women. Heck, music even helps people with schizophrenia get some shut-eye. A recent meta-analysis of music-sleep studies focusing on 10 high-quality studies found that music helps people with both short-term and chronic sleep problems.
In a typical study, people listen to relaxing tunes for about 45 minutes before they head off to bed. Several studies have found that the musicâs tempo makes a difference. âReputable studies find that music with a rhythm of about 60 beats a minute helps people fall asleep,â says Breus. âAs you are falling asleep, your heart rate begins to slow, and starts to move toward that 60-beats-per-minute range.â In other words, slow music âtunesâ your heartbeat toward the sleep zone. You can even buy CDs or download tunes from Bedtime Beats set to the 60-beats-per-minute ideal.
How Music Affects Sleep
Listening to music likely improves sleep for more than one reason. For example, music can reduce stress and pain, both of which interfere with sleep. It may also promote sleep directly, by affecting your physiology. Music impacts your sympathetic nervous system and hormone production. Listening to music can lower levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, while increasing oxytocin, a hormone associated with positive feelings. Many people use music to help themselves feel better and distract themselves from negative or stressful thoughts.
Music can also promote sleep by becoming a healthy bedtime habit. Many people who struggle with insomnia do so because stressful and worrisome thoughts keep them up at night. This stress wakes the body up, delaying sleep. By listening to music, the mind has something else to focus on. With time, the consistent practice of listening to music at bedtime becomes more effective as the brain positively associates music and sleep.
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Can Listening To Music Cure Insomnia
According to studies, it can. Music can help improve sleep quality. If you are an insomniac, you may find that the subsequent deep sleep caused by music may help you sleep through the night, rather than the constant pattern of wakefulness experienced by so many people.
A study carried out at the Center of Music in the Brain in Aahaus Denmark, published a paper based on six separate studies carried out on 314 people who had insomnia.
The participants listened to music for between 25 and 60 minutes before falling asleep throughout 3 to 35 nights.
The results were extremely positive, leading to the overall conclusion that listening to music is a side effect free method of improving sleep, health, and wellbeing.
What Kind Of Music Puts You To Sleep
The music-sleep connection has been confirmed in studies all over the world. Music even helps people with schizophrenia get some shut-eye.A lot of people use music to lull themselves to sleep, but not all songs are created equal. Studies have shown that classical music is an ideal choice to listen to before bed. Music with a relatively slow beat can help your body hit its internal snooze buttonquiet music tunes your heartbeat to the sleep zone.You can create your own playlist of soft music to sleep. While creating a playlist, one crucial factor to keep in mind is the tempo. The speed or tempo at which music is played is usually measured in beats per minute.
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Discover Online Classes In Meditation
Mindful meditation, meditation art, and more.
Meditation has a multitude of benefits, including helping our minds and bodies relax, unwind, and decompress. While some people use guided meditations or like to sit in silence, others prefer to meditate to music. Whether its music for sleep meditation, relaxation meditation, or otherwise, you may be wondering, how does meditation music work? What kind of music helps with meditation? And what is this kind of music, even? Lets dive in!
What Kind Of Music Should You Use
Now were reaching the important question.
The answer is you should seek music somewhere between 60-80 BPM . This follows most resting heart rates, which are in the same range.
Opt for music that has no words. With word and lyrics, you may start focusing on the lyrics themselves. Your mind will latch on to the lyrics.
This can have a number of results. Either you may remember different memories associated with what the artist was trying to evoke with their lyrics.
Conversely, you may even start to think to the things stressing you, depending on the subject material.
This doesnt mean you have to go completely to songs without lyrics. Classical music, while a good option, may not work for you. Test out different songs.
Different streaming platforms have playlists that people and the platforms themselves have curated.
Interestingly, songs with lyrics, such as Ed Sheerans Thinking Out Loud, appear on them. Thinking out loud has appeared on the most playlists.
With light subject material and melody, the song has a bpm in the right range as well. A perfect recipe.
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How To Make Music Part Of Your Sleep Hygiene
Music can be a great part of healthy sleep hygiene. Here are a few tips to keep in mind while incorporating music into a sleep-promoting evening routine.
- Make it a habit: Routine is great for sleep. Create evening rituals that give the body sufficient time to wind down, incorporating music in a way thats calming and consistent.
- Find enjoyable songs: If a pre-made playlist isnt working, try making a mix of songs that you find enjoyable. While many people benefit from songs with a slower tempo, others may find relaxation with more upbeat music. Feel free to experiment and see what works best.
- Avoid songs that cause strong emotional reactions: We all have songs that bring up strong emotions. Listening to those while trying to sleep may not be a great idea, so try music thats neutral or positive.
- Be careful with headphones: Headphones and earbuds may cause damage to the ear canal while sleeping if the volume is too high. Sleeping with earbuds can also lead to a buildup of earwax and may increase the risk of ear infections. Instead, try setting up a small stereo or speaker somewhere close to the bed. Choosing speakers without bright light, which can interfere with sleep, and find a volume that is soothing and not disruptive.
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