Music and sleep involves the listening of music in order to improve sleep quality 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 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 knowledg ...

). 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. 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)

References

{{reflist Musicology Music therapy Music psychology Sleep