Positive effects of listening to music on subjectively evaluated sleep were found in toddlers when listening throughout the naptime, preschool children and young adults listening 45 minutes at naptime and/or bedtime 16, 17, 18. In 20 included trials, another meta-analysis showed positive effects of music based interventions before bedtime on PSQI scores, sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency in patients suffering from primary insomnia 15. Similarly, sedative music while resting could effectively improve subjectively rated sleep in patients with sleep complaints 14. In a meta-analysis based on six included studies in a total of 314 patients, Jespersen and colleagues reported that music helped to improve subjective sleep quality in insomnia patients 13. In a survey in over 500 patients with sleep disorders, over 50% reported to use music as sleep aid 12.

In an online survey in a general population 62% (out of n = 651 respondents) stated to have at least once used music to help them sleep 11. Listening to music is a widely used tool to improve sleep.

Consequently, researchers need to empirically validate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological and easy to implement tools to support healthy sleep. The use of sleep enhancing medicine is problematic, as its effectiveness decreases across time and may lead to addiction.

However, sleep disturbances are highly common in our society 8, with increased prevalence in ageing 9 as well as among people at risk of or suffering from a psychiatric disorder 10. Sleep plays an important role for maintaining physical and mental health 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and is critical for general well-being 6, 7.

Soft music for bedtime