Effects of Listening to Music While Sleeping: Does It Enhance Sleep Quality?

Listening to music before and while sleeping can improve sleep quality and duration.

In a study to determine the effect of listening to music at bedtime in 60 people aged 60–83, researchers subjected the experimental group to 45 minutes of “soothing music” at bedtime daily for three weeks.

The results showed that the participants exposed to music at bedtime experienced “significantly” better sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

The participants also improved across all the individual components of sleep quality: sleep onset latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep duration, and perceived sleep quality.

In another study, researchers divided 94 participants aged between 19 and 28 into three groups.

The first group listened to classical music for 45 minutes at bedtime, and the second group listened to an audiobook for the same duration daily. The third group, the control group, listened to no audio at bedtime.

The study results showed that classical music at bedtime statistically significantly improved the subjective sleep quality and depressive symptoms of participants.

These results were not observed in the group that listened to audiobooks at bedtime and the control group.

Countless other studies have established the same conclusion that relaxing or listening to sleep music improves sleep quality and can serve as an alternative, inexpensive intervention for reducing sleep issues like insomnia.

Sleep quality is a measure used to gauge how well someone slept. It has four major components, namely:

• Sleep onset latency: This defines how long it takes for you to fall asleep.
• Sleep duration: The duration of sleep. Adults are expected to sleep between 6-8 hours daily.
• Sleep efficiency: The percentage of time you actually spent sleeping out of the total time you spent in bed.
• Wake after sleep onset: The time you spend being awake within your sleep window after first falling asleep.

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Music has a profound effect on the human body and mind, including helping you relax and decrease physiological arousal.

Physiological arousal is “a state of heightened activity within the autonomic nervous system” typified by high cortisol (stress hormone) levels and increased blood pressure and heart rate.

Heightened physiological arousal makes it difficult for anyone to transition from a state of wakefulness to sleep, prolonging sleep onset.

You want to keep sleep latency to about 10 to 20 minutes. As we established earlier, sleep onset latency is one of the components of sleep quality.

Scientists have also established a bidirectional relationship between sleep and stress. Stress can lead to poor sleep, and poor sleep can increase stress, leading to a vicious cycle requiring significant interventions.

A meta-analysis of other studies showed that music had an immense impact on physiological arousal. It reduces cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate, making the transition from wakefulness to sleep more rapid.

Another study found that soothing music at bedtime improved sleep onset latency and efficiency. The participants also showed reduced situational anxiety, which is strongly correlated with sleep efficiency.

Another benefit of listening to music at bedtime is that it helps you fall asleep faster, what researchers call sleep onset latency.

As mentioned earlier, the goal is to fall asleep between 10 and 20 minutes in bed. Falling asleep quicker or later than this is considered nonoptimal.

For example, falling asleep as soon as you hit the bed may indicate pathologic sleepiness, a condition associated with impaired performance. Playing music at bedtime can help reduce some of the stumbling blocks and help people fall asleep quicker.

We’ve already mentioned that soothing music can reduce physiological arousal and speed up the wakefulness-to-sleep transition.

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 13 studies featuring over 1,000 participants. They found “evidence that, compared to no treatment or TAU, listening to music may reduce problems with sleep‐onset latency.”

Another study found that listening to bedtime music significantly improved sleep onset latency.

Music affects our brains tremendously, leading Stanford researchers to conclude that “listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication.”

Another example of what happens when you listen to music while sleeping is that it can trigger the release of certain feel-good chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin. Both dopamine and oxytocin are feel-good hormones that promote happy and euphoric feelings.

Research shows that “preferred music induces dopamine release in striatal regions,” similar in response to when humans eat or have sex. Dopamine is the hormone that gives you feelings of “pleasure, satisfaction and motivation.”

Research also shows that soothing music increased oxytocin levels in participants’ saliva. Harvard Health describes oxytocin as the love hormone due to its ability to help us bond with loved ones. More importantly, it plays a positive role in promoting positive feelings.

Oxytocin also has anti-stress and mental health-improving qualities, which make it a strong ally when you’re trying to get quality sleep.

Ultimately, these feel-good hormones improve your mood and make falling asleep quicker. As research shows, those with mood disorders typically complain of sleep issues like irregular sleep patterns, trouble falling asleep, and sleeping for too long.

So, is sleeping with music bad? By itself, no! However, listening to music with ear accessories or corded headphones has potential downsides you should be aware of. These include:

Necrosis is when cell tissues die after a prolonged lack of blood flow. Listening to music while sleeping can lead to necrosis, but this risk only exists for those who sleep with headphones on.

Headphones that aren’t a good fit and are larger than your ear canal can cause little blood to flow to the region it surrounds. You will likely observe discomfort or pain while using it, which may become more extreme when you lay on your side.

Over time, continued use of the same headphones may lead to necrosis, a condition typified by black and brown tissue being left behind in the areas covered by the headphones.

Some additional risks with using headphones while sleeping include:

• Using headphones immediately after a shower can trap moisture in your ear. Trapped water in your ear canal can become a breeding ground for bacteria, leading to an infection.

You may also develop future hearing impairments if you listen to music at very high decibels while asleep. One study found that participants who reported listening to music for three hours endured ringing in their ears.

One of the unintended consequences of using music devices like Airpods is that they can push ear wax farther back. Ear wax is a natural material that protects the eardrums from itching or drying and from dust and debris.
However, pushing them further can compact the wax into a hard layer rather than its natural, waxy nature. When this happens, it may become difficult for the ear to clean itself, leading to wax buildup in the ear canal.

Some wax buildup symptoms include partial deafness, ringing, earache, itchiness, feeling like your ear is full, and more.

If you observe any of these symptoms, you may need to consult a physician to have the wax removed.

Additional tips to follow include:

• Avoid noise-cancelling headphones to be able to hear alarms 
• Use an external sound device like a Bluetooth speaker instead, so it’s more like background music

Sleep benefits from doing more of some healthy habits and foregoing harmful ones to your sleep quality.

Embodying these healthy habits below can transform you from a poor-quality sleeper to a high-quality one:

General food choices and food consumed before bedtime affect your sleep quality.

A Japanese study of 3,129 female workers found a high correlation between vegetable and fish consumption and sleep quality. Participants who consumed vegetables regularly slept better.

Conversely, participants who skipped breakfast and ate mainly noodles, confectionery, and sweetened beverages endured poor sleep quality. These findings remained true after adjusting for other risk factors like age, alcohol intake, smoking, and others.

Another study found that participants with low protein intake typically struggled to initiate sleep.

Timing is also another factor when considering food’s effect on sleep. Research shows that eating late just before bedtime negatively influences sleep quality. Researchers observed this relationship to be stronger in individuals who rarely consumed bedtime food.

Eating late affects sleep because the body releases hormones like insulin, which may signal the brain to remain awake, interfering with the transition from wakefulness to sleep.

In light of the findings highlighted above, here are some food-related tips to help you sleep better:

The body takes long hours to break down high-fat meals like steak. A 2010 study of 459 women found that high-fat content before sleep was highly associated with reduced sleep time.

Spicy food can lead to heartburn and indigestion, making you uncomfortable and stressed, both recipes for poor sleep onset and quality.

Although alcohol may help you fall asleep quicker, it impacts the latter and restorative stages of sleep, causing wakefulness during the night. Waking up during the night and finding it hard to return to sleep leads to poor sleep quality.

Caffeine can remain in the bloodstream for 6-8 hours, making its effect evident even after bedtime when consumed late into the evening. A study on the impact of caffeine zero, three, and six hours before bedtime showed that caffeine consumption six hours before bedtime caused sleep disturbance.

These foods contain tyramine, an amino acid that may trigger the release of norepinephrine, the hormone behind your fight-or-flight responses.

Norepinephrine in your bloodstream keeps your brain alert and makes it difficult to transition to sleep.

Read also: How Can Your Diet Improve Sleep Quality? Top Foods Revealed!

Smartphones emit blue light that disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm, which regulates when certain physiological actions like sleep happen. At specific intervals at night, the human body should release melatonin to signal to the body that it’s time for sleep.

Disruptions from smartphones, laptops, TVs, and room lights delay the onset of melatonin release, inhibiting the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Per this study, 99% of participants exposed to room light before bedtime experienced later melatonin onset.

Recommendations:

• Stop all gadget use at least 30 minutes before bedtime and avoid using your smartphone while in bed.
• Keep the room dark and comfortable.

In this example, the body’s sleep and wake prompts will be off by as much as two hours, meaning sleep onset will change from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

So, maintaining your circadian rhythm is especially important for falling asleep as it determines when melatonin is released into your body to signify sleep time.

But ask yourself how often you get out and see bright lights. With the recent acceleration of remote work, more people spend less time outdoors. That’s where light therapy comes in.

Luminette Light Therapy Glass is a best-in-class innovation of this product category, powered by more than four years of research at the University of Liege.

It’s perfect for those who get little to no sunlight during the day due to age or sickness-induced immobility, work schedule, nature of work, and generally anyone looking to sleep better, reduce fatigue, and improve their productivity and creativity.

The beauty of the Luminette 3 is that you can use it anywhere and while doing most of your daily activities. You wear it like a regular glass for only 20-45 minutes per day, depending on the light intensity you choose.

Some of the technical features of the Luminette 3 include:

• Emits blue-enriched white light
• Emits light at a wavelength of 468 nm, the most effective at replicating the sun’s positive effect
• Certified safe and carries the CE Classification of safe eye devices
• Free from infrared rays and ultraviolet rays

You can use it while having breakfast, brushing, reading a book, and performing light exercises.

The Luminette 3 is safe and easy on the body, and you can start enjoying the benefits after 4-6 days of continued use.

These additional tips can also enhance your sleep quality and pattern:

• Avoid prolonged daytime naps. Short power naps of 30-45 minutes are good.
• Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Ensure the expected duration is 6-8 hours. This will help build a consistent habit.
• Keep your bedroom environment clean, relaxed, and at the right temperature.
• A bedtime routine can signal your brain that it’s time to sleep. Activities you can add to your routine include taking a shower, meditating, and, as already mentioned, playing calm music 30-45 minutes before your scheduled bedtime.
• Change your mattress, bedding, and pillows for a more comforting sleep.

You may also like: Healthy Sleep Habits to Adopt Today.