Releasing Stress Through The Power Of Music
Ideally, you want songs that most closely mimic your heart rate. If you’re not sure how many BPMs a song has, you can look up virtually any song at songbpm.com. And since our brain sends signals to every part of our body, music can affect us in a variety of ways. On a physiological level, our breathing and heart rate will mirror the beat of a song. Over 60% of people listen to music to help themselves fall asleep. For those that don’t want to design their own playlist, online music services have stepped in and usually offer pre-packaged playlists for specific activities.
I love listening to music as a way to make myself feel better or to relax. It was interesting to learn that Celtic, nature sounds, and jazz/ classical music are all genres that work the best in reducing stress. I love Celtic music and will have to try it out whenever I’m feeling stressed next.
The majority have been conducted in clinical populations such as individuals with chronic insomnia or patients in hospital settings [28–30]. For example, Chang et al. demonstrated that listening to music for 45 minutes prior to sleep for four days shortened stage 2 sleep duration, while extending REM sleep in adults with chronic insomnia. Research by Chen et al. supported these findings in a group of young adults. Individuals with a long sleep latency saw a shorter stage 2 sleep and a longer deep sleep with sedative music playing for the first hour the participant was in bed. Another great musical suggestion for falling asleep is contemporary classical music, as this genre doesn’t have a lot of ups and down, and doesn’t really cause any excitement when listening to it. The emotional responses that people get when they listen beautiful music to contemporary classical music aren’t that significant, so it might just be the best choice for those of you looking to fall asleep faster.
Whatever has brought you here, we wish you luck on your journey towards better rest. Earlier we mentioned wireless headphones to reduce the already unlikely risk of strangulation. Another option is earbuds that are embedded into a headband, aptly called headband headphones. These have built-in earbuds that are enclosed inside of a headband. If you die of strangulation from wearing earbuds while you sleep, you are the deserving winner of a Darwin award.
Not only music for sleeping, but also for relaxing you and reducing stress levels. According to Inc.com, Weightless was found to reduce stress levels by 65%. In the second study, researchers had 50 people listen to either a lyrical or instrumental song before bed. People who were in the instrumental group experienced increased nighttime earworms and worse sleep quality.