Music and sleep involves the listening of
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
in order to improve
sleep quality
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited Perception, sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefuln ...
or improve
sleep onset
Sleep onset is the transition from wakefulness into sleep. Sleep onset usually transmits into non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM sleep) but under certain circumstances (e.g. narcolepsy) it is possible to transit from wakefulness directly into rapid ...
insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
in adults (for infant use of music and sleep, see
lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...
). This process can be either self-prescribed or under the guidance of a
music therapist
Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...
. Music is easy to administer
and has no reported side effects.
Music can be combined with relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation. Research suggests that prevalence of music as a sleep aid may be up to 25% in the general population.
Major empirical findings
Research indicates that music may improve subjective sleep quality in adults with sleep problems.
However, findings are less consistent with improving sleep quality of 'normal' sleepers.
In direct comparisons, music has improved sleep quality greater than audiobooks and has been comparable to sedative hypnotics. One review of non-pharmacological sleep aids identified music as the only sleep aid with adequate research.
Mechanisms
Dickson & Schubert's RPR
Dickson & Schubert summarized and evaluated six researcher proposed reasons (RPR) by which music could potentially aid sleep:
* ''Entrainment:'' 'synchronization of biological rhythms to beat structures in music.'
* ''Masking:'' 'obscuring noxious background noise with music.'
* ''Enjoyment:'' 'listening to preferred, emotionally relatable or pleasant music.'
* ''Distraction:'' 'where music acts as a focal point to distract from inner stressful thoughts.'
* ''Expectation:'' 'individuals cultural beliefs around music.'
* ''Relaxation:'' 'where music encourages physiological or psychological relaxation.'
Habit Formation
Dickson & Schubert proposed ''Habit Formation'' as an additional RPR under the Arts on Prescription model. Music requires a minimum of three weeks for individuals suffering mild insomnia to become healthy sleepers and continues to improve sleep quality over three months. Music improved sleep quality with increased exposure regardless of differences in the demographic, music genre, duration of treatment, and exposure frequency.
Dickson suggests t
"listen to music that you find relaxing, at the same time, every night for at least three weeks"
Musical genres and features
Typical genres of music used for sleep (sedative music) includ
classical music ethnic music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
,
ambient music
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
,
meditation music
Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or w ...
and
lullabies
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...
. Although researchers have recognised a wide diversity of music genres aiding sleep.
The characteristics of music that have improved sleep quality in the music-sleep literature include slow tempo, small change of rhythm, and moderate pitch variation of melody.
The selection of music (self selected or researcher selected) does not appear to impact sleep quality.
Sedative music developed in collaboration with researchers
* Can't Sleep (app) - Gaelen Thomas Dickson (music psychology)
* Pzizz (app)
- Maryanne Garry (psychology)
*
Marconi Union - Weightless (song) - Lyz Cooper (sound therapy)
*
Max Richter - Sleep (album) - David Eagleman (neuroscience)
See also
*
Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep.
*
Lullaby
A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowled ...
*
Music psychology
Music psychology, or the psychology of music, may be regarded as a branch of both psychology and musicology. It aims to explain and understand musical behaviour and experience, including the processes through which music is perceived, created, r ...
*
Music therapy
Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...
*
Sleep (album)
''Sleep'' is an eight-and-a-half hour concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep by composer Max Richter. It was released in 2015, accompanied by a one-hour version with variations, ''From Sleep'', and later remixed as ''Sleep Remixes ...
References
{{reflist
Musicology
Music therapy
Music psychology
Sleep