Music That Will Help You Fall Asleep
Are you having trouble sleeping despite trying everything you can think of to fall asleep at night? You may think you have tried everything, but have you tried listening to music? It may seem counterproductive to create noise when you’re trying to fall asleep, but studies all over the world have shown that listening to some types of music can help you fall asleep easier. Let’s find out why that is!
Music has many purposes. It can keep you entertained while you drive, it can motivate you to work out, and most importantly, it directly effects the parasympathetic nervous system. Our parasympathetic nervous system is better known as the rest and digest system as it conserves the body’s energy and helps it relax. Listening to classical or soothing music before bed will thus effect your parasympathetic nervous system directly to prepare your body for sleep.
Studies have shown that people who listened to relaxing music for 45 minutes before bed not only fell asleep faster, but also had better quality sleep as they slept longer and woke up less throughout the night. Listening to music before falling asleep is thus a form of meditation. Your body will relax as your heart rate syncs with the peaceful music and your blood pressure will lower, thus helping you fall asleep.
Music that is relaxing is subjective. One listener may find Beethoven relaxing, while another may find more modern music relaxing. Similarly, if you don’t enjoy a song or it has lyrics that make you think, you will focus your thoughts on that, making it harder to relax. So, it is best to stick to slower songs with a rhythm of 60 to 80 beats per minute and no lyrics to help you relax. Music genres such as classical, folk, and jazz tend to fit these parameters and there are some great headphones for classical music out there if you are worried about disturbing the rest of the household.
Many people have trouble falling asleep as they struggle with anxiety. Listening to soothing music has been shown to also lessen anxiety. A study in the UK had participants solve difficult puzzles while listening to different types of music. Participants who listened to relaxing music with the recommended 60 to 80 beats per minute showed a 65 per cent reduction in anxiety. So, if anxiety is keeping you up at night, listening to music can help with that as well.
If you don’t want to listen to music per se, playing white noise is another great option with a similar effect. White noise is good for masking sounds from your environment such as traffic from outside or noisy neighbors. Unlike listening to music for just 45 minutes before bed, white noise will typically stay on throughout the night to keep you from hearing any other noises. Using music to relax you, then turning on white noise for the night is also a great option.
Although listening to music is a great way to help you fall asleep easier, if you don’t have a comfortable mattress, music won’t be able to fully help. If your mattress has started to lose its shape and become lumpy or hard, you should consider buying a new one, preferably a good memory foam one. A new mattress will help support your body properly and make you comfortable enough to fall asleep as soon as you turn your soothing music on.
