We’re all familiar with creating workout playlists, but what about creating one for sleeping?
When you think about what might help you get to sleep, it’s often soothing sounds like ocean waves or whale songs, but a recent study from Aarhus University in Denmark may have you singing — or rather snoozing to — a different tune.
The study — which looked more than 200,000 songs on Spotify — compared classical music, pop songs and more traditional sleep sounds.
“The findings reveal previously unknown aspects of the audio features of sleep music,” explained the authors of the study. ”We were able to determine the universal and subgroup characteristics of sleep music in a unique, global dataset.”
People from all ages can benefit from listening to music either before or while sleeping. The Sleep Foundation reported that “adults who listened to 45 minutes of music before going to sleep reported having better sleep quality.”
The Danish study revealed that fast paced, energetic tracks are great for sleeping. “Dynamite” by K-pop group BTS and “Lovely” by Billie Eilish and Khalid were among the songs examined in the study.
“One could argue that music with high Energy and Danceability would be counterproductive for relaxation and sleep, however it is possible that they could increase relaxation when considering the interplay between repeated exposure, familiarity and predictive processing,” said the authors.
Using music as a sleep aid can be effective, but it’s just one part of having good sleep hygiene. According to The Sleep Doctor these recommendations can also help you prepare for a better night’s sleep:
- Avoiding caffeine later in the day
- Avoiding alcohol or large meals close to bedtime
- Performing a relaxing activity before bed
- Keeping your bedroom cool and dark
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