Does Listening to Music Help You Sleep?What Trials Show
Sleep & NighttimeArticleMusic at bedtime is cheap, easy and free of side effects, and the trials are fairly encouraging. A Cochrane review of 13 studies with 1,007 adults with insomnia found that listening to music for 25 to 60 minutes a day improved how well people rated their sleep, with moderate-certainty evidence. In older adults, calm, slow music for at least 4 weeks worked best. But on sleep trackers, the gains didn't show up. Here is what that means.
In this article
Putting on calm music at bedtime is about the simplest sleep aid there is. It’s free, it has no side effects in the trials, and you can start tonight. Here is how well it works.
The Cochrane review
A Cochrane review gathered 13 studies with 1,007 adults with insomnia symptoms.1 People listened to recorded music every day for 25 to 60 minutes, for anything from a few days to three months.1
- Sleep quality improved compared with no music or usual care, by almost 3 points on a 0 to 21 sleep quality scale, with moderate-certainty evidence.1
- Music may help people fall asleep sooner, by their own reports.1
- There was no clear effect on insomnia severity, based on two small studies.1
- In three studies that measured sleep objectively, music didn’t clearly improve time to fall asleep, total sleep or waking.1
- No side effects were reported.1
People can’t be blinded to whether they’re listening to music, which weakens every one of these trials.1
In older adults
A review of 5 trials in older adults found music improved sleep quality.2
- Calm, slow (“sedative”) music worked better than music with a strong beat.2
- Listening for more than 4 weeks was effective.2
What to make of it
Music seems to make sleep feel better, even when trackers and lab measures don’t show much change. For many people, feeling more rested is the point.
Trying it:
- Pick slow, calm music you like.2
- Listen for 25 to 60 minutes as you wind down or in bed, every night.1
- Give it at least 4 weeks before judging.2
For insomnia that lasts, see what insomnia and CBT-I are, white noise and earplugs and sleep restriction therapy.
Try: “I’ve been listening to calm music at bedtime and I feel more rested, but I still wake at night. What else could help?”
Did I Do That in My Sleep? covers bedtime routines in Chapter 10, “In Bed All Night, Tired All Day,” in a section called “Light, Screens and a Usable Routine,” which asks what a device is actually doing in your evening. Its 14-Night Lights-Out Record keeps a rough morning account, so you can see whether a new routine helps over a couple of weeks. See the book.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who knows your health history. See a doctor if poor sleep lasts for months, affects your days, or comes with loud snoring, gasping, or uncomfortable urges to move your legs. Girl Playbook does not endorse any specific product, test, or provider.
Girl Playbook sells this book. It provides education and worksheets, not individualized medical care.
Sources
The research behind this article, in the order it’s cited. How we source our articles.
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (abstract via PubMed), 2022Listening to music for insomnia in adults (opens in a new tab)abcdefghi
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (abstract via PubMed), 2021Effect of music therapy on improving sleep quality in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis (opens in a new tab)abcde
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