Struggling to sleep? Experts identify the perfect music to listen to in bed to beat insomnia

If you’re a victim of disturbed sleep, you could be in luck—one expert may have solved the mystery of why you can’t nod off.

Sleep scientists have long suggested banning all technology before bed, cutting out caffeine and having the same number of fixed hours kip every night as simple ways to combat insomnia.

But now, Chinese researchers have claimed that music therapy may ‘significantly’ improve sleep quality among adults over 50.

According to the scientists, who tracked more than 600 adults, patients who attended sessions that involved them often listening to slow-tempo instrumental or classical music for up to an hour at a time, achieved enough shuteye. 

The experts said they could not prove exactly how the sessions helped insomnia. 

They suggested, however, that music may influence how the brain regulates emotion and it could ‘address the emotional disturbances’ often seen in older adults with sleep disorders. 

Music has also been shown to reduce cortisol levels, heart rate, and respiratory rate, relaxing the body which could help with falling asleep, they noted. 

Writing in the journal PLoS One, the scientists from Ningxia Normal University in Guyuan, said: ‘Music interventions represent a promising non-drug approach for improving sleep quality in older adults — particularly given concerns with long-term drug treatments.’

In the study, the researchers analysed the findings of 10 different studies involving 602 adults who undertook music therapy.

Most interventions involved passive listening to slow-tempo instrumental or classical music — between 60 to 85 beats per minute — for between 20 to 60 minutes per session.

The frequency of these sessions also varied, with some patients having a single session, while others undertook just over three months worth. 

The scientists found a mean difference of -0.79 overall, meaning there was a ‘moderate to large’ improvement to their insomnia when music therapy was used. 

However, two of the studies were assessed as having’ serious risk of bias due to confounding factors’, they noted. 

‘Music may also help form new psychological associations with bedtime, replacing bad habits that interfere with sleep’, the researchers concluded. 

But they acknowledged that further, larger, ‘rigorous’ studies which had longer follow-up periods, were vital to further assess the effectiveness of music therapy treatment. 

Research has long suggested that music has the power to concentrate, even soothe a headache or control chronic pain.

Scientists say that different frequencies of music tell the brain to do certain things. 

For example, a high-frequency sound, such as an alarm or scream, will trigger the release of adrenaline, the hormone that prepares you for action. 

Meanwhile, low-frequency music — in other words, a low-pitched sound or low notes, may encourage the brain to slow down.

People often take around 10 to 20 minutes normally to nod off after turning off the lights, the Sleep Foundation also say.

Last year, a study found that around one in six Brits suffer insomnia, yet 65 per cent never seek help for their sleep problem.

The poll of 2,000 people, by The Sleep Charity, found nine in ten experience some sort of sleep problem, while one in two engage in high-risk or dangerous behaviours when unable to sleep.

Poor sleep has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer, stroke and infertility.

Experts have long advised that waking up during the night does not necessarily mean you have insomnia, which figures suggest affects up to 14million Brits.

Still, sleep deprivation takes its own toll, from irritability and reduced focus in the short term, to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

According to the American Sleep Association, nearly 70 million Americans also have a sleep disorder.