The Benefits of Sleep Music: Why it’s Good to Fall Asleep to Sound

Several studies show that listening to music or relaxing sounds at bedtime improves sleep quality, including in young adults, older adults, and in children. Playing music before bed may decrease the time it takes to fall asleep and help improve sleep quality. This is because music has been shown to decrease levels of a stress hormone called cortisol. Music also triggers the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, which can boost good feelings at bedtime and may help manage pain.

According to an article in Psychology Today, music has powerful and diverse effects on both the body and mind. It influences breathing and heart rate, triggers the release of hormones, stimulates the immune system, and boosts the brain’s cognitive and emotional centers.

“Relaxing music triggers changes to the body that in many ways mimic a sleep state. A slower heart rate, slower breathing, and lower blood pressure are all physiological changes that make possible the process of falling asleep and staying asleep,” it said.

Relaxing sleep music has many other benefits:

Improved sleep quality: Relaxing music can help you fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer by reducing stress and anxiety. It can also improve your sleep patterns and make your sleep more restful.

Stress management: Music can soothe your nervous system and decrease cortisol levels, a stress hormone that can make you feel alert.

Sleep efficiency: The therapeutic effects of music can increase over time, making it easier to fall asleep faster and sleep more consistently.

Lower blood pressure: Because music has a calming effect on the nervous system, it lowers the heart rate and may help lower blood pressure.

Pain relief: Listening to soothing music has been shown to help relieve pain by triggering the release of endorphins, which are natural painkillers produced by the body.

Reduced stress and anxiety: Calming sounds can slow racing thoughts and ease anxiety.

Other benefits: Music can boost your creativity, productivity, memory, and stamina.

If you’d like to try sleep music, remember to choose relaxing, slow sounds and rhythms. Poor choice of music can increase your heart rate, impact your mood, and increase alertness and anxiety. The best sleep sound may be silence, but white noise, pink noise, music, and nature sounds may also help you fall and stay asleep. Classical music and sounds of nature seem to be particularly effective, according to researchers.