The pharmaceutical industry provides us with access to medications specifically designed for people with sleep disorders and other issues that prevent them from sleeping well. However, the medications used to treat insomnia or improve sleep quality have several side effects. They can be addictive, and their active ingredients may lose effectiveness during long-term treatment. Benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and other prescription psychotropic drugs should only be considered in cases of extreme necessity and urgency, and strictly under medical supervision. That is why everyone who suffers from insomnia and has varying degrees of difficulty falling asleep is always on the lookout for new solutions to their problem. Natural remedies, small adjustments, or potentially effective solutions that can help them find their way back to sleep.
Music as a non-pharmacological tool
The power of music to induce sleep has been recognized since early childhood—every parent has witnessed the visible benefits that a soothing lullaby can have on their little one. Some rely on music boxes placed in their children’s cribs, while others who can sing never miss a chance to sing a lullaby to their child. To gently rock them into REM sleep, during which they can be placed in their bed without the risk of waking at the slightest noise or movement.
Once they grow up, for some reason, people lose the habit of listening to music before going to sleep. It’s as if, as we get older, music’s power to help us fall asleep diminishes.
To understand how listening to music can influence the delicate mechanisms of sleep, it is important to know that the brain processes music. The brain converts sound waves into electrical signals that are transmitted throughout the body, acting as regulators in the release of specific hormones. When listening to certain types of music, some hormones are inhibited, while others are released. This is the case with cortisol, which, if present in high levels, can interfere with sleep, or with dopamine, which instead promotes sleep by having a pain-relieving effect and playing a key role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
The first effect of listening to music to help you fall asleep is therefore the relaxation of the nervous system, thanks to the reduction of stress and physical and mental distress.
The Influence of Music on Sleep
When discussing the influence of music on sleep, it is important to emphasize that it is not merely a matter of quantity (how many hours of sleep you get), but also—and above all—of sleep quality. Using music to promote healing during sleep means drawing on the rhythm, melody, and tonal qualities of sound.
No, the focus isn’t solely on the act of sleeping: the real goal is to achieve high-quality sleep—sleeping for an extended period without constant interruptions or waking up.
Some studies examine the benefits of music on sleep
A study conducted in Taiwan in 2020 highlighted the important role of music in sleep. The first group in the study consisted of middle-aged women with normal sleep patterns—minimal difficulties falling asleep or waking up. According to the results, listening to 45 minutes of music before bedtime leads to an immediate improvement in the quality of nighttime sleep. Perhaps the most important aspect concerns how quickly this remedy takes effect: it is possible to reap the benefits of listening to music as early as the first night’s sleep following the listening session.
The other group studied—mature women suffering from insomnia—was played a playlist of their own choosing for ten days. This approach led to a reduction in the time needed to fall asleep by as much as four times the normal amount. For example, those who previously took more than an hour and a half to fall asleep saw this time decrease significantly by listening to their own songs to help them fall asleep. A remarkable result that improves over time. By the end of the test period, the same music was helping them fall asleep even more quickly. This is because our body activates and deactivates based on a new routine it has learned to recognize. The heart rate slows down, blood pressure drops, and breathing becomes slower.
In its conclusions, the Taiwanese study found that these parameters remain highly subjective, as is to be expected. It all depends on an individual’s suggestibility, as people may respond differently to their own perceptions. In this sense, a suggestible person is more open to the possibility and effectiveness of using music to promote healing during sleep.
What kind of music should you listen to to help you fall asleep?
It’s worth asking: what’s the best music to fall asleep to? Beyond personal tastes and playlists, certain genres of music can have a particularly positive effect on the various stages leading up to, inducing, and even accompanying sleep. That’s right—you can fall asleep while listening to music, perhaps by setting your device to turn off automatically after a set time.
Figuring out which music is best for falling asleep isn’t a matter of testing. It would be possible, but very complicated, precisely because the sample under consideration is so vast, given the different age groups, genders, and musical genres. Not to mention the endless number of playlists that could be accessed. Each study focuses on an individual subject, on personal criteria and tastes, so the selection is tailored to the specific circumstances. Music, by its very nature, has a component linked to individual memory. If a person associates a song with a traumatic event, no matter how relaxing, gentle, or soothing it may be, it will have the opposite effect on them.
Finally, to truly discover which music can help us fall asleep, we will need to turn to science in the near future: acoustics, thermoacoustics, and sound engineering. There is, in fact, a whole range of factors that must not be overlooked: the vibrations and physical sensations of well-being that lullabies convey. And the secondary (but no less important) goal that can be achieved: that of masking any auditory interference. The noise of cars on the street, a particularly annoying neighbor, but also the very clamour generated by one’s own anxiety, by one’s own relentless and intrusive thoughts.
All things considered, music, along with yoga and meditation, offers a viable alternative to the widespread use of medication.
Music frequencies for a good night's sleep
When it comes to musical frequencies, there are certain genres that promote sleep. Classical music certainly has great potential, but it always depends on the tempo, key, and harmonic timbres. On the other hand, there is also a lot of relaxing electronic music, not to mention dub music and other more underground subgenres.
Moving beyond genres and focusing on frequency, there is white noise (e.g., the sounds of rain, flowing water, and wind), and then there are binaural beats. What are binaural beats? When we listen to two tones—one in each ear—that differ slightly in frequency, our brain processes a beat based on the difference between the frequencies. This is the binaural beat, an auditory illusion that has also been explored in the world of music and is a technology used to tune instruments, such as pianos and organs. In recent years, there has been much discussion about the health benefits associated with listening to binaural beats, including reduced anxiety and improved sleep.
Finally, a study on music at 432 Hz—a specific tuning method for instruments that has certain effects on overall sleep quality. In particular, according to some studies, it is precisely this specific frequency that influences the sleep architecture and electroencephalographic patterns of those who listen to it.
The best songs to fall asleep to
Beyond unusual music and specific frequencies, which songs can help you fall asleep? Which tracks have a direct effect on our nervous system? Which ones prepare our bodies for a good night’s sleep? One thing is certain: listening to relaxing music before bed offers several benefits:
- reduces anxiety and stress around us
- helps us fall asleep faster
- helps us sleep longer
- helps us avoid waking up too often during the night.
Many people have trouble sleeping with music because they find it distracting. Perhaps some just need better advice: choose instrumental music, without lyrics, that can captivate and carry you away.
Here are 11 songs to help you fall asleep:
- 1. Camminante – Vinicio Capossela
Let’s start with an old track by Vinicio Capossela, featured on his album *Camera a Sud*. It’s a long song about a love story and seagulls. With a slow, steady rhythm, the song repeats the same note over and over in a crescendo of harmony and tranquility.
- 2. Svefn-g-englar - Sigur Rós
Widely regarded as one of the best rock bands for inducing sleep, Sigur Rós is an Icelandic band that has written many songs designed to help you fall asleep. Or rather, perhaps their intention was to evoke feelings of tranquility—and they have succeeded. Their voices are soothing—perhaps due in part to the use of their native language—and in this anthem, they sound ethereal and otherworldly. The very slow tempo lulls you to sleep—the video, featuring a multitude of angels filling a vast green meadow, is also worth watching (though not while trying to sleep).
- 3. I’m So Tired – The Beatles
It’s certainly not one of the Beatles’ most famous songs, but it really fits the theme of this little list! Written by John Lennon to express his complicated relationship with insomnia. As the title suggests, the artist would like to sleep after so many long nights spent writing songs and staying up until dawn. The lyrics are about not sleeping, and the melody and mood of the song are sleepy and dreamy.
- 4. All of Me – John Legend
This is one of those songs you should add to your playlist before going to bed. Thanks to John Legend’s intense, warm, and rich voice, this track clears your mind and helps you disconnect from your problems. A long, flowing piano melody serves as the foundation for a song about love and the future.
- 5 I love you – Billie Eilish
The prodigy of electronic music helps us drift off to sleep with an open, soothing track. The studio version features sparse, synthetic sounds, while the acoustic version is carried by a soft piano. Billie’s voice comes in slowly and carries us away, into the arms of Morpheus.
- 6. Swansea - Bombay Bicycle Club
Here’s a track for all lovers of the warm, soothing vocal tone typical of British English. Thanks to Jack Steadman’s voice, this song fills our minds and souls, lulling us to sleep. It begins with a simple guitar arpeggio, a soft sound that carries through to the end of the song, leaving us room to breathe and relax.
- 7. Vivo – Andrea Laszlo De Simone
Andrea Laszlo De Simone is one of the most influential voices in the contemporary Italian singer-songwriter scene. De Simone is a well-rounded composer, with a voice and a flair for arrangements that seem to come straight out of the 1970s. With *Vivo*, this singer takes us on an interstellar journey that brings us back down to earth.
- 8. I Talk to Trees – Chet Baker
There are many albums by this jazz trumpeter that can really help us fall asleep. "I Talk to Trees" is certainly a lesser-known track, but its title alone reveals the full scope of its meaning. A man—the singer himself—uses the power of his trumpet to speak to the trees. What better companion for our sleep than a tree? With its stillness, its immobility, its tranquility.
- 9. The Moon Song - Karen O and Ezra Koenig
An ode to the moon, a track that glides along in a dreamlike atmosphere accompanied by the harp. Karen and Ezra’s warm, sleepy voices blend and merge until they become a harmony that lulls us to sleep.
- 10. Alice Coltrane - Reflection on Creation and Space (A Five Year View)
Not just a single song, but an entire album. Well-known among jazz lovers, Alice Coltrane—John’s wife and mother of two of his children—takes us on a journey of reflection on space and creation. The atmosphere shifts between rarefied and primordial moments and those imbued with a mystical and sensual cultural imprint.
- 11- I Went to Sleep - Beach Boys
Our list simply had to end with a lighthearted, sleepy song. "I Went to Sleep" by the Beach Boys is a song that tells the story of someone who struggles with sleepiness and often falls asleep. Soft drums, deep bass that mimics a slow heartbeat, and background bells—all topped off with the Beach Boys’ signature melody, making for a lullaby for adults.
Music and Heart Rate
Whatever music helps you fall asleep, there’s one basic rule: it must be distracting and fall within a BPM (beats per minute) range that matches your heart rate.
Come to think of it, that’s what happens with young children. One of the most effective ways to get a newborn to sleep is to rock them, sing them a lullaby, and gently pat their bottom in time with the beat of your own heart. This is because the heartbeat has been imprinted in the baby’s memory thanks to the nine months spent in the womb. By recognizing it again in the rhythm created by your hand, the baby can relax to a sound they know perfectly well.
Obviously, your heart rate will slow down as your body and your heartbeat naturally synchronize with music that has a slightly slower tempo.
The role of technology in music therapy for sleep
There are countless options available for anyone interested in trying music therapy. These include both free and paid apps, and if you don’t have any specific songs in mind, you can search for pre-made playlists on various platforms such as YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify.
Just use keywords related to sleep and relaxation: you’ll get tons of song results. Try them out one by one, perhaps interspersed with tracks featuring white noise and nature sounds that induce ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), a feeling of relaxation that spreads through a pleasant tingling sensation in the body thanks to multisensory stimuli. Over time, you can simply note down the most effective tracks and create a more specific playlist that includes them.
The songs, pieces, and tracks we choose don’t necessarily have to be “beautiful” by today’s standards or according to our current tastes. They should be relaxing and help guide our bodies through this process of slowing down that leads up to sleep.
This is different from the kind of process involved in selecting daytime songs that are meant to evoke a specific emotion. An emotion that, in this case, might just wake us up.
The goal is to fall asleep, so it is quite likely that, in the process of achieving this, you will begin to doze off while the playlist is playing and continue until it ends. This is by no means a bad thing, nor does it have any particular drawbacks; in fact, some in the scientific community believe that listening to music while sleeping can enhance cognitive function.
The key is to use special Bluetooth headphones designed for sleeping (so the cord doesn’t get in the way of even involuntary movements and become a hazard) and to adjust them so the volume isn’t too loud.
At the same time, the headphones will help you block out external noise, such as a partner who snores or breathes heavily. This product is designed to provide a comfortable listening experience, but it should not be worn continuously, as this could impair proper blood circulation in the ear.