How Music Impacts the Sleep Cycle

Scientists at the University of Toronto in 2002 studied people's brains to determine which rhythmic patterns and tones facilitate slower brainwaves, common in deep relaxation and meditation. The scientists then used a computer to replicate these patterns with music that matched the individual's brainwaves. This music increased relaxation, decreased anxiety and allowed people to sleep more easily.

Listening to soft music before sleeping helps elderly people sleep better and longer, according to a study published in a 2005 issue of "The Journal of Advanced Nursing." These people, who had problems sleeping, reported significant improvement when they listened to 45 minutes of this music. The study was conducted by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Taiwan. It evaluated sleeping patterns of 60 individuals age 60 and over.

Neil Stanley, chairman of the British Sleep Society reviewing the Toronto study, said a person's favorite music should be beneficial for sleep. The music can be a quiet classical piece or a loud rock song. It should be anything that relaxes the person and masks other disruptive sounds.

Many companies sell music designed to enhance sleep. A more unusual product is offered from musician Junichi Kamiyama, who recorded numerous musical instruments as they sound in the uterus, using a tiny microphone. His goal is to make babies relax and feel like they are in the womb again. His theory is that will help them sleep better. In addition, a Website called Baby Go To Sleep offers heartbeat music therapy to calm babies enough so they can sleep. They cite several hospital studies showing the music is effective, such as a 6-week study at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield, Alabama, where nearly all of 59 babies stopped crying or began sleeping within 2 minutes of the music being played.

The Monroe Institute, which developed a technology called Hemi-Sync, also has conducted extensive research into how its own music impacts the sleep cycle. Hemi-Sync synchronizes both hemispheres of the brain to achieve a desired mental state, including sleep. The organization offers numerous music compact discs to help people go to sleep faster and stay asleep longer.