Do you toss and turn at night? Have you always had trouble sleeping? Do you think endless about work and personal relationships at night? While many people depend on medical sleeping aids so they can have a restful night, these have side effects. They’re not for long-term use either. You will end up depending on these medicines. Fortunately, there’s another way you can sleep faster and better. You can listen to music.
If you have been in piano class as a kid, you know how music has a calming effect on people. You’ve spent all those weekends surrounded by the soothing rhythms of the piano keys. You’ve learned to play the classics. That’s probably why you’ve always had a good night’s sleep when you were younger. That and the fact that you do not face the same problems you have now.
Remembering Your Younger Days
But take a cue from your childhood. Surround yourself with music once again. Not the kind that you listen to on the radio when you’re driving to work, but the kind that puts you in a good mood. When you’re cooking dinner, play a fast-beat song or a slow one. Who cares? Music is very personal. What you want to listen to at a certain point in your life or day may not be what your friends or family want to hear. That shouldn’t matter. Your choice of music is entirely yours.
Some people love listening to songs they’ve listened to when they were teens. These songs bring them back to a time of their lives when they were carefree. Some like to listen to upbeat songs because they match their mood or uplift their emotions.
Music for Sleeping
Studies suggest that music plays a role in helping your body and mind relax. Older adults who listen to 45 minutes of relaxing music before going to bed sleep better. They wake up less in the middle of the night. They also said their nights are more restful when there’s music in the background. Even younger adults sleep better at night when they listen to classical music.
This is science. Music slows down your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, and triggers your muscles to relax. Think of how you feel when a slow jam suddenly makes its way into the radio waves. Even though you’re stuck in the middle of a traffic jam that hasn’t moved an inch for 30 minutes, your mood gets a boost because of the songs you listen to. Try turning off the radio while you’re in traffic. Your mood will turn for the worse.
So what kind of music should you listen to? Slow tunes are preferred. The song should have a rhythm of 60 to 80 beats per minute. These songs are usually under the jazz and classical categories.
But remember that once you start to integrate relaxing music into your bedtime routine, stick to it. This will create a more positive effect on your sleep over time. Your body will soon recognize these songs as cues that it’s ready to relax and go to sleep.