How Does Music Affect the Way a Person Sleeps?

Music is an important part of many people's daily waking lives; however, music can also play a significant role on your sleep. Music affects people through lyrics and sounds, but it also affects the brain on subconscious levels, making it easier to go to sleep, deal with pain, get better sleep or quiet an upset infant. While music may just seem like planned-out noise, it can have serious positive effects on your health.

Falling Asleep

• Many people have difficulty falling asleep, especially people over 65 years old. According to the Bastyr Center for Natural Health, 50 percent of the elderly struggle with insomnia. Listening to soft music and lying in a relaxed and comfortable position makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. The music helps to relax the mind into a peaceful and tranquil state that facilitates sleep. While regular sleep patterns, medication and avoidance of stimulants can help some people fall asleep, soft music can help particularly hard cases.

Pain Relief

• Music can also greatly affect how a person deals with pain, whether chronic or post-operative, states eMedExpert. After major surgery or with serious problems like arthritis or osteoporosis, patients frequently have trouble sleeping and getting good sleep. Soft, relaxing music or a patient's particular favorite type of music guides the mind to relax, distracts it from the pain and helps sustain restful sleep. In addition to pain medication and a comfortable bed, music can be the difference between painful slumber and a good night's sleep for many patients.

Improved Sleep Quality

• For people with busy or hectic schedules, it often seems that there aren't enough hours in the day to sleep. When people are constantly stressed, busy or working, their sleep quality also suffers. Listening to music when falling asleep and while sleeping can dramatically improve sleep quality, resulting in less stress, better work performance and good health. The U.S. National Library of Medicine's Pub Med states that listening to soft or classical music while sleeping also fights depression and improves psychological health.

Infants

• Most people know that infants can be lulled to sleep with a song or humming, but music can also seriously help infants relax, fall asleep and stay asleep, especially shortly after being born. The Journal of Neonatal Nursing claims that soft, medium-volume music puts most upset infants in a calm, tranquil state that promotes sleeping and causes them to stay asleep longer than when they simply fall asleep.