We like to think that sleep is very much a sensory experience. As your body rests and recharges for a new day, a wonderful blend of environmental factors come together to determine the quality of your sleep. Whether you know it or not, all 5 senses are at play: sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing. The brightness of your room, the softness of your sheets, the smell of your surroundings, the food you consumed that day, and the background sounds are all factors that contribute to how good or bad your sleep is!
Listening to certain music can definitely help you fall asleep easier or affect your mind subconsciously as you catch those Z’s. Read on to find out what kind of music you should allow yourself to drift off to for a soothing and deliciously deep sleep.
1. Slow music
An important factor to consider is the beat and tempo of your song of choice – slow, mellow, relaxing beats help to calm you down and slow down your heart rate, which makes you doze off more easily, while an uptempo, exciting rock and roll song is likely to get your blood and adrenaline pumping, which is not an ideal state for your body to be in when you’re trying to fall asleep. Reputable studies have shown that music with a rhythm of about 60 beats a minute is ideal in helping you fall asleep better, because it acts as a metronome, tuning and slowing your heart rate to a matching 60 bpm, aka sleepy zone!
2. Instrumental music
Ever notice how spas always play soothing, instrumental music that have zero lyrics? Songs with lyrics, especially those hits that you know how (and LOVE) to sing along to, are not a great choice. Your mind might subconsciously be jamming along to those irresistible bops, which means it doesn’t get a chance to quieten and slow down. Having words to focus on might cause your brain to stay too engaged and active, which is what we don’t want at bedtime! Songs without intelligible words, or those that are purely instrumental, are a sure-fire way to send your brain into snooze mode. Classical music is a safe bet, but instrumental renditions of your fave songs are good too.
3. Neutral music
Keep your sleep playlist neutral – nothing too happy or too sad. You don’t want to evoke any strong emotions that will keep you awake. That means no music with strong connections to events in the past, or music with sentimental attachments, or nostalgic music. (And definitely not that song you and your ex used to listen to together!) Having a clear head and a neutral state of mind is best to fall asleep, because emotions lead to thoughts and memories, which lead to a noisy mind, which keeps sleep at bay!
Pro tip: Remember not to sleep with earphones in, as you can roll over on your side in your sleep, causing them to dig into and hurt your ear canals. Speakers are a much more comfortable option. Another pro tip: Spotify has a sleep timer! So curate your playlist, set your timer for the music to stop after X minutes, happy listening and good night!
