Lullabies and soothing music put us to sleep as kids. Although rare when adults get a good night's sleep nowadays it's said that they slept like a baby. There are plenty of options for adults to enjoy that same baby-like state of sleep by playing some light relaxing music or effective guided audio. In one study, adults who listened to 45 minutes of music before going to sleep reported having better sleep quality.
It is also said that listening to music prior to sleep can have a cumulative effect as some people who reported long term use of sleep music said that their sleep and sleeping patterns got better the more often they incorporated music into their nightly routine.
We can all agree that music has the ability to affect the regulation of our hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. Being stressed and having elevated levels of cortisol can increase alertness and lead to poor sleep. When we are relaxed we fall asleep much quicker and the quality of our sleep improves significantly.
Listening to music can also contribute to relaxation by soothing the autonomic nervous system. Music improves sleep through calming parts of the autonomic nervous system, leading to slower breathing, lower heart rate, and reduced blood pressure.
I have incorporated music into my nightly pre-sleep ritual by taking as little as 10 min aside to listen to a guided sleep meditation. Sometimes I even beat the music to sleep. I wake in the morning rested and we slept.
Every closed eye is not sleeping like every open eye is not seeing.
-Bill Cosby-
Meditation Dolphine has compiled a great collection of meditation audio for every day and almost every situation. Below I have listed two of my favorite sleep meditations from them.
2 Guided Sleep Music Recommendations:
Comments