Hi music lovers,
So I saw this article online - a recent one and I thought I should share. I am sure I am not the only one who “sings” herself to sleep. Whenever I find it hard to sleep, I play some cool R ‘n’ Bs and I sleep off. I don’t know if it is the music or the fact that I believe it would help me get some good night’s sleep. It just works!
According to a recent study (Fact checked by Paula Field), participants reported that music helps them fall asleep quickly and eliminate internal and external stimuli responsible for disrupting sleep habits.
A large number of people fight sleep disorders with music.
Sleep disorders are those changes in sleep patterns that increases exposure to health problems and can affect our everyday quality of life.
Difficulty falling asleep, sleepiness during the day, and too much movement during sleep.
Insomnia is one of the most common type of sleep disorder, and it is an inability to fall sleep. Other disorders which are not very common include restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea (irregular breathing patterns while sleeping), and narcolepsy (falling asleep any time, usually without warning).
Some people may experience insomnia when excessively stressed, and it can occur for no obvious reason and can become severe if left unattended to.
Facts about insomnia
A survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) showed that over half of the participants experienced sleep disorders.
Symptoms the participants mentioned were; difficulty sleeping, waking up often during the night, inability to get back to sleep, and waking up very early. 33 percent of the participants claimed to have experienced at least one of the above mentioned symptoms every night or nearly every night in the last year.
To celebrate the 2017 Annual Insomnia Awareness Day, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine published an article about the effect of severe insomnia. Studies showed that insomnia is associated with nearly 253 million days of lost work every year in the United States and over $100 billion in annual costs.
Can music help improve sleep habits?
Medication is used by many to treat insomnia. Some medications, however, may have serious side effects — while natural methods, music and meditation for example are not likely to cause any serious damage.
A recent study showed that a lot of people use music to combat sleep disorders. To get the facts, Tabitha Trahan, from the University of Sheffield, in the United Kingdom, and colleagues carried out a research on the use of music as a sleep aid, using an online survey. People living with insomnia were not the main focus of the research; it included the general public.
To date, there has been a lack of data on how commonly people use music as to fall asleep, why they use it, and the kind of music that makes them fall asleep. This online study scored sleep habits, musicality, and open-end responses on the music they prefer and why they chose that particular type. You can find the in the journal PLOS ONE.
Over 60 percent of the 651 participants said that they listen to music so that they can fall asleep. The participants mentioned 14 musical genres including 545 artists. People don’t have to deal with sleep disorders also said that they listen to music to improve their sleep quality. Results also revealed that younger people tend to use music as a sleep aid.
Participants said that music helps them sleep and helps eliminate internal and external stimuli. Although the research provides initial facts on the use of music as a sleep aid, it does not come to any conclusions about the physiological and psychological effects of music since it only relies on answers reported by people.
"The largest-ever survey of everyday use of music for sleep reveals multiple pathways to effect that go far beyond relaxation; these include auditory masking, habit, passion for music, and mental distraction." The authors added:
"This work offers new understanding into the complex motivations that drive people to reach for music as a sleep aid and the reasons why so many find it effective."
Do you use music as sleep aid like me and so many other people? Share your experience.!
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image source; Komando.com