Header burger open
Search Logo

Jump To

Currently Viewing:

Does Sleeping With Music on Help You Fall Asleep Faster?

a profile image of TSA author Alex

Written By Alex Petrović

Sleep Consultant

Featured image for sleeping with music

7 November 2023 7 min read

For many of us, music is an intrinsic part of life! You jam out while on your way to work, deal with it in the elevator, and rock out at parties in the evening. But should you be sleeping with music in the background?

If you're having trouble falling asleep, there are many things to consider. For one, your sleep hygiene. In order to fall asleep quickly and efficiently, you need to be calm, relaxed and ideally in a good mood. And since music affects all of these things during the day, it only stands to reason that it can help you out at night as well, right?

Well, for the most part, listening to music as part of your nightly routine definitely has some benefits. However, there are a few things you should consider before Spotify replaces your white noise machine.

The benefits of sleeping with music on

It's no secret that the internet is full of relaxing sleep music. They're typically instrumental tracks, lo-fi beats, sounds from nature, or some combination of all of them. And, to an extent, there is science to back up their title as sleep music.

An image of a woman with headphones on listening to music

Firstly, music can affect sleep through your actual heartbeat. This is because songs that have around 60 beats per minute can cause your brain and heart rate to synchronise with the beat and allow you to fall asleep faster. However, it's important to note that this is tied to the beats per minute or the tempo.

So, even classical music isn't going to be much help if it's really fast. So, something like Vivaldi's Spring, which clocks out at around 113 BPM, isn't going to necessarily help you fall asleep in this manner. That being said, this isn't the only way in which music can help you get a good night's sleep.

The impact of music on your mental health

If you've ever jammed out in your bedroom with a fake microphone and your favourite song blaring on the speakers, you know that music triggers plenty of happiness when you get into it. And in the long run, playing music that makes you feel this way helps out immensely.

This is because music can help you deal with stress and completely change your attitude. And this doesn't just refer to pop music. Even heavy metal, which is heavily stereotyped by people outside of their community, sparks joy in the brain and helps us remain happy!

An image of a woman frolicking near the coast

And if you're happy during the day, you're a lot more likely to be happy during the evening. In turn, being happy during the evening can help you fall asleep a lot more quickly! This is because how stress affects sleep and sometimes even triggers certain sleep disorders.

This is also research suggests that music therapy might be an effective way to fight against insomnia. So, listening to music definitely seems like an ideal bedtime routine for now.

How music helps create a sleep routine

Although this benefit is a bit more fringe than the previous example, it's still worth pointing out. We've talked at length about how an optimal bedtime routine can fix your sleep efficiency and nab you consistent rest.

An image of a woman doing her morning routine

And the reasoning is pretty simple – if you play the same music every night, your body will start getting used to it and in turn “fall asleep on cue”. This is simply due to the fact that your mind will associate those songs with sleep and will therefore be prompted to make you sleepy every time you hear them. Just make sure not to Pavlov yourself with extremely popular songs or you might just fall asleep while out in the town.

Jokes aside, creating your own playlist with calming music that you like can help create a habit and subsequently help you fall asleep a bit faster. Just make sure that you don't get sick of hearing the same song every night.

Sleeping with music drowns out other noises

Another big convenience of having music on is that you're unlikely to hear anything else. For example, if you've ever had noisy neighbours, you know that even them just walking around can keep you awake for hours.

However, if you have background music to listen to, their movements will likely be harder to pick out and thus less annoying. That being said, make sure you're not the noisy neighbour in this situation who's keeping someone else awake with your music.

The two-way relationship between sleep and music

Lastly, we'd like to talk about a rather interesting fact – that music can affect your dreams. In a study called Music and Dreams, it was determined that those who listened to music, sang, or plaid an instrument during the day and their childhood were more likely to have music in their dreams as well.

And this is especially fascinating when it comes to musicians as there are plenty of examples of famous composers and songwriters being inspired by a dream they had. So, interacting with music while you're awake makes it so that music is more frequent in your dreams, which can then potentially help you come up with new music. Talk about a positive cycle!

Are there any risks to sleeping with music on?

So far we've only focused on the positives. And realistically, we're sure that for a lot of you, the positive effects are the only ones you're ever going to experience. That being said, since the odds of these risks are higher than zero, we believe pointing them out is still necessary.

An image of a woman in bed with headphones on

Ruining your sleep quality

Although this contradicts everything we've said so far, it's true in some specific scenarios. Firstly, if you're playing your favourite song while you're trying to go to sleep, you're probably not going to have a lot of luck. This is because if the song has lyrics, you're likely going to feel tempted to sing along.

And as you could imagine, neither karaoke nor singalongs are all that helpful when trying to fall asleep. Secondly, music doesn't always have to bring forth positive emotions. For example, if you run into a song that reminds you of an unpleasant part of your life, you're likely going to dwell on it for a bit.

Lastly, if you put your playlist to shuffle, you might just scare yourself. For example, if a really loud or aggressive song starts playing while you're still in the N1 or N2 phase of sleep, you might just jolt out of bed in fear. This has nothing to do with the music genre but rather how loud it is.

The dangers of wearing earbuds in bed

While all of these points are invalid if you simply play the music on a speaker, earbuds do come with a few potential issues. After all, they're spending the entire night in your ear. So, let's go from the least to the most dangerous potential situation.

The least dangerous outcome is that you roll over in your bed and accidentally damage some part of your ear canal with the earbud. It's not very likely and most earbuds were designed to avoid this exact situation but it's technically possible.

In second place, if you keep your earbuds in for a very long time, earwax could start building up potentially leading to complications down the road. Again, this isn't very likely but it's still possible.

Lastly, if you're using regular headphones, the cord can get wrapped around your neck and suffocate you in your sleep. However, this isn't the case with more modern wireless earbuds. And it's also not too likely to happen but you should keep it in mind if you have very young children.

Conclusion

So, is playing music a viable alternative to seeing a sleep doctor? No. However, we think that it's a lot more likely to help you fall asleep quickly and efficiently than it is to harm you in any way. Just remember to seek out music at around 60 bpm that you enjoy listening to and keep on jamming out in your dreams!

Recommended reading:

Comments (0)

There are no comments yet

Related Posts

Articles you don’t want to miss

Featured image for Podcasts for sleep
17 July 2023

Best Podcasts to Help You Sleep

For those struggling to fall asleep, sleep-inducing podcasts can truly be a blessing. And we hope that you've found at least one that's righ...
Featured image for top laundry hacks
03 June 2023

Top Laundry Hacks

We've covered how to make dryer sheets but what about dryer balls? Unfortunately, the process is a bit more complicated but it can still be ...
Don't Miss Out!
Get the latest reviews, special offers, new releases and more…
@thesleepadvisors
Deal Alert!
We loved this Deluxe microfibre duvet from Otty. And we love it more now that it's on Black Friday sale!
Hit the link in bio to check this deal and all the rest this Black Friday

#DealAlert #BlackFridaySale #MicrofibreDuvet #Otty #DeluxeQuality #SleepInStyle #ComfyBedding  #LuxurySleep #BlackFridayDeals #Discounts #ShopTillYouDrop #BedroomUpgrade #HomeDecor #CozyNights #SleepWell #BedroomGoals #LimitedTimeOffer #SaveBig #BestDeals #OnlineShopping #BargainHunting #MustHaveItem #SaleAlert  #SleepInComfort #BudgetFriendly #ShopSmart #DuvetLove #BlackFridaySpecials  #GetItWhileItsHot #HomeComforts
Shhhh.... I'll tell you a secret! Black Friday isn't over!
We've rounded up the stragglers to cater for your Black Friday FOMO. 
Mattresses, Beds & Bedding are still on MAJOR discounts, so don't delay! Get a bargain today.

Links in bio

#BlackFriday #SecretDeals #MattressSale #BedSale #BeddingSale #Discounts #Bargains #BlackFridayFOMO #MajorDiscounts #StillOnSale #LimitedTimeOnly #DealAlert #ShopSmart #SaveMoney #SleepBetter #QualitySleep #LuxuryBedding #ComfortableMattress #GoodNightSleep #BedroomUpgrades #HomeDecor #InteriorDesign #HappyCustomers #OnlineShopping #Convenience #LinkInBio #Don'tMissOut #ShopNow #GetABargain #GreatDeals
Mattress Deal Alert! 
Here are some top value deals we've sniffed out for you this Black Friday!
We love these from Emma, but they're not all! Check our Black Friday deal summary for all the best bed and mattress deals to save you money and upgrade your snooze this Black Friday!

#MattressDealAlert #BlackFriday #TopValueDeals #EmmaMattress #BlackFridayDeals #BedDeals #MattressDeals #SaveMoney #UpgradeYourSnooze #BestDeals #SleepBetter #SnoozeBetter #BlackFridayShopping #Bargains #BigSavings #HotDeals #LimitedTimeOffer #Discounts #SaleAlert #SleepComfortably #SaveBig #MustHaveDeals #BlackFridaySales #GreatOffers #DreamBedroom #ComfortableSleep #BudgetFriendlyDeals #QualityMattress #SleepHappy
Best Mattresses With Edge Support UK – Top 5 Picks Reviewed 💤

The best mattress with edge support UK has to offer is… Well, let's not get that ahead of ourselves. First, let's understand what edge support is and why it might be important to you!  Check out the link in BIO🔗

#thesleepadvisors #sleep #sleeping #edgesupport #mattresses #topmattresses
Don't snooze! Well.... not yet! First pick up a bargain in the Black Friday sales! 
We've rounded up all the best deals to save you searching. You can find them all at the links in bio... then snooze your little socks off!

#BlackFridayDeals #BargainHunting #Savings #DealFinder #BlackFridaySales #ShopTillYouDrop #Discounts #BestDeals #LimitedTimeOffers #BigSavings #MoneySavingTips #OnlineShopping #SalesAlert #HolidayShopping #ShopSmart #ShopOnline #EarlyBirdGetsTheDeal #MustHaveItems #HolidayGifts #ShoppingSpree #Don'tMissOut #ClearanceSale #BiggestSaleOfTheYear #GetThemandSave #ScoreABargainGiveaway
Do you sleep on your tummy? On the side? Or on your back?
Can a topper suit your sleeping position & improve your sleep?
With 15% Off for Black Friday, the Panda Mattress Topper is worth a try!

#thesleepadvisors #topper  #mattresstopper #saggymattress #panda #sleepingpositio
Beat the queues and get your black Friday shopping done early!
You won't miss out as we've pulled this year's best deals together in one handy page. You'll find it on the link in bio

#blackfridaydeals #blackfridaysale #mattress
You can make or break your bedroom style with the perfect bed! What can make this easier? A HUGE Black Friday discount on your chosen bed frame of course!
From Ottoman to Sofa Beds, Metal or Wooden. The Sleep Advisors have pulled together the best in beds this Black Friday and here they are.
Link in bio

#bedroomstyle #perfectbed #BlackFridaydiscount #bedframe #Ottomanbeds #SofaBeds #Metalbeds #Woodenbeds #SleepAdvisors #bestinbeds #BlackFridayDeals #FurnitureSale #interiordecor #comfortablebed #sleepwell #homeimprovement #dreambedroom #discountshopping #shoppingtime #homefurnishings #cozybedroom #interiordesignideas #bedroominspo #masterbedroom #comfybedroom #sleepingbeauty #bedroomupgrade #relaxationstation #styleandcomfort #sweetdreams
Black Friday deal alert!
Get 15% discount on the award-winning Panda Hybrid Bamboo Mattress Topper!

#BlackFriday #DealAlert #Discount #PandaHybrid #BambooMattress #MattressTopper #SleepBetter #BedroomUpgrade #LuxurySleep #Sale #LimitedTimeOffer #SleepComfortably #SaveMoney #QualitySleep #ComfortableBedding #NaturalMaterials #SustainableChoice #EcoFriendlyMattressTopper #AffordableLuxury #BestPrice #HolidayShopping #HomeDecor #GreatDeal #BlackFridaySale #LimitedStock #InnovativeDesign #PremiumQuality #SleepWell #CozyBedding #BetterSleepingExperience
Do you sleep on your tummy? On the side? Or on your back? Can a topper suit your sleeping positions, and improve your sleep? Let’s find out! Check out the link in our BIO
#thesleepadvisors #topper #mattresstopper #saggymattress #panda #sleepingposition
Close button

Don't Miss Out!

Get the latest reviews, special offers, new releases and more…

By submitting this form, you are opting into our mailing lists.
See our privacy policy.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.