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Sleep is something that we often take for granted. However, the effects of sleep on our body and mind can be massive. If you want to keep your body healthy and to retain a youthful appearance, getting an adequate amount of sleep is important. In this blog post, we will be discussing how to use sleep music to reduce stress and get better sleep. We will look at the benefits of sleep music and provide tips on how to make the most of it. Read on to learn more about getting a good night's sleep with stress relief sleep music.
According to the American Sleep Association, up to 70 million adults in the United States have a sleep disorder that costs about $16 billion in medical costs each year. The most common problem is insomnia, which affects one in every three adults at some point in their lives and one in every ten chronically. Insomnia has been linked to a number of health issues, including type 2 diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, depression, obesity, a weakened immune system, and a lack of sex drive.
According to a 2018 online survey of 615 adults published in the journal PLOS One, 62% listen to music at night to help them sleep, 35% use it at least once a week, and 4% use it every night. (The researchers cautioned that their sample was not necessarily representative of the general population.) have found that when people listen to relaxing music, their levels of stress hormones decrease, making it easier to drift off. Furthermore, listening to specific types of sleep music that are designed to relax the body and mind can be especially helpful in inducing sleep and reducing insomnia. Many streaming services offer hundreds of sleep music playlists ranging from gentle instrumental tracks to nature sounds, so there’s sure to be something out there to help you get the restful sleep you need.
If listening to music before bed sounds appealing, there are professional music therapists who can assist you in using this technique successfully.
Music therapy and its research in sleep are gaining traction as a novel, culturally sensitive, cost-effective, and safe intervention. So, with music and music therapy, we have unique approaches to sleep by assisting people in inducing a relaxation response."
While music is unlikely to replace doctor-prescribed medication or therapies for sleep problems, you do not need to have a sleep disorder or be musically talented to benefit from it.
Why does music assist some people in falling asleep?
Listening to music throughout the day can often make people feel better and divert their attention away from stressors that can contribute to anxiety or depression. It turns out that the same is true at night, and music can help some people fall asleep faster and sleep better.
According to a 2012 study published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, 25 adults with chronic insomnia who listened to "soothing music” for 45 minutes before bed for four days had improved overall rest, shortened stage two sleep (a lighter stage in non-REM sleep), and prolonged REM sleep when compared to a control group that did not listen to music. Dreams and deeper slumber are associated with REM sleep, which is essential for cognitive function, memory, emotional processing, and learning.
Furthermore, your breathing and heart rate can gradually synchronize to music. This phenomenon, known as entrainment, promotes relaxation. Much of the music that improves sleep quality plays at 60 to 80 beats per minute, which is close to an adult's normal resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. (Music has also been shown to improve the feeding behaviors and sucking patterns of premature infants.)
For those struggling with insomnia, or just looking to get better sleep overall, there are lots of sleep music apps and albums available. Studies have shown that listening to relaxing music at bedtime helps people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
The genres of sleep music vary widely from calming music to relaxing music to slow-paced music to classical piano music and jazz. You should try whatever type of music helps you relax; however, it may be best to select songs with a lower pitch, that do not encourage dancing, have a smooth sound, and do not contain lyrics.
You should avoid wearing headphones while sleeping because they can cause hearing damage or headaches, as well as prevent you from hearing any safety alarms or problems in your home.
Instead, experts advise playing music on a speaker with an automatic timer so that it does not play all night. Having said that, tuning into your music may be difficult if you share a bed with someone who finds it irritating. Some wrangling with your partner may be required.
Volume is also important. Aim for anything under 50 decibels (roughly the volume of a quiet refrigerator or moderate rainfall) or simply begin with a volume that is "as quietly as comfortably possible."
Here are some general healthy sleeping habits to adopt:
Avoid using electronics, reading, watching TV, or working in bed.
Caffeine should only be consumed before noon.
Maintain as much darkness as possible in your bedroom.
Exercise before 2 p.m., as endorphins can make it difficult to fall asleep.
Even on weekends, go to bed at the same time every night.
Keep pets, especially cats, out of your bedroom.
If possible, try to sleep seven to nine hours per night (children should sleep nine to 12 hours; infants should sleep 12 to 16 hours).
Who is a music therapist?
Music therapists are trained in understanding the effects music experiences can have on behaviors, feelings, thoughts and actions. Music therapists use their therapy training and musical ability to facilitate interactive musical experiences to help clients achieve goals. These goals may include improved communication, cognition, physical function, mood, wellbeing.
For years, music has been used in hospitals and nursing homes to soothe dementia patients, improve communication abilities in autistic children, and reduce pain in hospitalized patients. Music therapists also help people who are still having difficulty sleeping despite medication or cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people change their thoughts about sleep and develop healthy bedtime habits.
Anyone can call and make an appointment with a music therapist to address sleep issues, but most people are referred to the professionals by other doctors, such as psychiatrists.
Initially, a music therapist will prescribe helpful sleep habits, such as avoiding food at least two hours before bed. Other sessions address why you can't sleep, your childhood, lifetime traumas, bedtime habits, and general preferences for various sounds and instruments. As a result, they can create personalized tunes or playlists for you.
The result is a distinct yet simple collection of sounds that are predictable, repetitive, and comforting, which is what the brain is looking for to relax. The music therapist may prescribe playlists for at-home listening beginning an hour before sleep after several real-time listening sessions in a clinical setting to see how patients react to the music.
These playlists may last 15 to 30 minutes for some, but for others, such as those suffering from severe anxiety, they may last up to 4 hours.
How to find a music therapist?
According to responses from nearly 3,000 professionals in a 2019 survey conducted by the American Music Therapy Association, more than 1 million people received music therapy services in 2018. However, it is unknown how many people receive music therapy for sleep disorders.
According to the survey, the average rate for individual music therapy sessions in the United States is $77 per hour, while group sessions cost around $88 per hour. Depending on where you live, music therapy may be covered by Medicare or Medicaid. According to the AMTA, some private insurance companies such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare will pay for the service. According to the association, music therapy, like other types, is generally reimbursable when pre-approved and "deemed medically or behaviorally necessary to achieve the individual patient's treatment goals."
Other sources of reimbursement for the service include grants, private pay, workers' compensation, and state departments.
About 31% of AMTA survey respondents said their music therapy sessions were paid for by the government or a third-party health insurance provider. The AMTA, CBMT and WFMT help you find a music therapist.
Sleep music may not suit everyone
Music can be both beneficial and distracting. Some people find music too distracting for sleep, and this could be because they intellectualize the music rather than relaxing to it.
According to a 2021 study published in the journal Psychological Science, people who listen to music more frequently (especially popular or catchy songs, either during the day or before bed) are more likely to experience "earworms", that is when a song or tune plays over and over in your mind at night. Among the approximately 250 study participants who either answered survey questions or slept in a sleep clinic, this was associated with greater difficulty falling asleep, more nighttime awakenings, and more time spent in lighter stages of sleep.
There is no particular person or group of people who should avoid using music as a sleep aid. If you're interested, you could seek professional assistance if you believe you need it. And if that doesn't work, there are other options.
