Can Music Help You Get a Good

Nights Sleep?
Statistics from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
claim that an estimated 40 million Americans annually live with chronic sleep
disorders, while 20 million more have trouble sleeping from time to time.[i]
This is a serious issue both on a personal and societal level, as people who
dont get enough sleep often experience a variety of short-term problems,
like impaired judgment, and long-term problems, such as an increased risk of
suffering from health conditions like diabetes and heart disease.[ii]

Researchers have recently begun to explore what role music may play in
helping people sleep. Several have even conducted meta-analyses to
examine what research studies collectively say about musics effectiveness
as a sleep aid. Today were going to share the findings of one of these metaanalyses, which the International Journal of Nursing Studies recently
published.

This meta-analysis sought to measure how well music can alleviate acute and
chronic sleep disorders by analyzing the results of ten published studies.
These studies involved 557 adult participants with sleep disorders. In each
study, participants were randomly assigned to a treatment condition, in which
they passively listened to music, or an alternative condition. Researchers
then measured the sleep quality of all participants.

In comparing the results across studies, the writers of the meta-analysis

found that on the whole, music caused significant improvements in sleep
quality.[iii] The only exceptions to this occurred in two trials where
researchers studied people with chronic sleep disorders for less than three
weeks; in these cases, sleep quality did not significantly improve when
people listened to music. However, in four of the ten studies the benefits of
listening to music seemed to accumulate over time.Considering this, you
have to wonder if music might have significantly improved sleep quality in all
of the studies if researchers had looked at its effects over a longer period of
time. The authors of the meta-analysis obviously wondered this too, because
they wrote that researchers must follow-up with study participants for more

than three weeks in order to properly evaluate the effect of music on people
with chronic sleep disorders.
While the results of the meta-analysis are promising and suggest that music
may help people sleep better, the writers caution that their research has a
few limitations. For instance, although all of the included studies were
randomized controlled trials, which are often considered the gold standard of
research, many also had less rigorous design features, such as small sample
sizes. Because of this, we need additional research to have conclusive
evidence about musics efficacy in enhancing sleep. However, as the authors
of the meta-analysis observed, music didnt negatively affect sleep quality in
any of the studies, and it often costs relatively little compared to other
interventions. Since music is an intervention with great potential to help and
little potential to harm, people shouldnt have any qualms about trying to use
music to improve their sleep quality.

Despite the need for further research, the preliminary evidence suggests that
music may indeed be able to help you get a good nights sleep. If you want to
try using music as a sleep aid, we recommend using music similar to that
used in the studies. While the genres of music in individual studies varied,
each of the musical selections had a tempo between 60 and 80 BPM, a
regular rhythm, low pitches, and tranquil melodies.Dont forget to choose
music that you enjoy as well!

In a few weeks well share a playlist of classical music with the above
characteristics to help you sleep well. In the meantime, let us know if you
have tried using music to sleep better. Wed love to hear your stories!

[i] Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. NIH: National Institute of

Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 7 Jan. 2014.

[ii] Consequences of Insufficient Sleep. Healthy Sleep. The Division of

Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, 2008. Web. 7 Jan. 2014.

[iii] Wang, Chun-Fang, Ying-Li Sun, and Hong-Xin Zang. Music therapy
improves sleep quality in acute and chronic sleep disorders: A meta-analysis
of 10 randomized studies. International Journal of Nursing Studies 51.1
(2014) : 51-62. Print.

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Jessica Ryan in Sleep.

http://wellness.pittsburghsymphony.org/can-music-help-you-get-a-goodnights-sleep/