A Good Night’s Sleep
Is there anything more elusive than a good night’s sleep? When you consider how much of our pharmaceutical companies are built on sleeping pills, it’s easy to believe that most people have trouble falling and staying asleep at some time in their lives.
Yet sleep is so very important to our health, our moods, our relationships - nearly every facet of our lives. Sleep deprivation - even for just a day or two - can sap your energy, your enthusiasm and all the fun out of your life. And the truth is, for every person who knows they’re not getting enough restful sleep, there are another dozen who don’t understand why they’re stressed, irritable and unable to focus on their work or pleasure.
What do you do to fall asleep? Some swear by warm milk, a cup of Sleepytime tea, a ritual of counting sheep. Doctors may suggest pharmaceutical sleep aids, though these days many will suggest setting up a bedtime ritual to tell your body that it’s time to sleep. Soothing music and lullabies are a time-honored part of the bedtime ritual for children, but a recent study in China has found that music really does help people sleep better.
The study was reported in the Journal of Advanced Nursing in February. The participants were adults over the age of 60 who had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep through the night. Researchers gave each member of the study group a 45 minute tape of ’sedative music’, and instructions in how to use the tape to foster relaxation.
The participants had a choice of six different types of music - four Western and one Chinese. Each tape met the following criteria:
- 60-80 beats per minute
- no accented beats
- no syncopation
- no percussive characteristics
In plain English, the music was slow, without a defined beat or rhythm. That’s nowhere near as bland as it sounds. This kind of music has been tested in numerous studies for pain relieving properties and found to be as effective at relieving pain as taking two acetaminophen.
The music types they chose were Chinese orchestra, synthesizer, harp, piano (contemporary), orchestra (classical) and jazz. Participants listened to the music tapes each night when they went to bed, and in the morning recorded how long it took them to fall asleep, how well they slept and how they felt the next day.
The results - 43% of those who listened to music at bedtime each night showed significant improvements in nearly every area that was tested. They fell asleep more quickly, slept longer, slept better and felt better the next day. And it wasn’t just a little better - they scored on average 23% higher on all those scores than they had just three weeks earlier.
There are obviously many different things that affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at night, and many different ways to improve your sleep. How many are as pleasant as listening to beautiful music as you drift off?