ACHES & CLAIMS
Music to Lull You to Sleep
By Laura Johannes
Wall Street Journal
September 18, 2006
Tired of counting sheep? Companies selling specially designed
music say their soothing melodies bring you sweetly into slumberland.
Physicians who specialize in sleep say music does help some insomniacs,
but is most likely to be useful in mild cases.
Nearly everyone has trouble sleeping at least occasionally.
About 60 million Americans a year have insomnia frequently or
for extended periods of time, according to the National Institutes
of Health. Insomnia tends to increase with age, according to
the NIH, and also affects women disproportionately, with 40%
of women affected but only 30% of men.
Millions take prescription drugs or natural supplements such
as melatonin, to aid slumber. But a nonmedical solution -- listening
to music -- is now getting attention both in research journals
and from entrepreneurs.
Recent studies suggest slow-tempo music, ranging from 60 to
80 beats a minute, may help lull insomniacs to sleep.
Several companies sell compact discs or digital music online
designed to spur sleep -- each with very different styles. David
and Steve Gordon, a team of brothers who were among the first
to compose and sell new-age style music about 25 years ago, last
year came out with Pillow Music Natural Deep Sleep, made up of
gentle melodies interwoven with trickling brooks, waves and other
natural sounds.
Music as a sleep aid hasn't been widely studied. However, several
smaller studies have linked music to better sleep. Last year,
a study done on Taiwanese elderly adults by researchers at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland found that mellowing
out to music 45 minutes before bedtime helped about half of a
test group of 30 adults sleep longer and better. A control group
given no bedtime ritual showed no change.
That three-week study, published in the February 2005 issue
of the Journal of Advanced Nursing, used a variety of music,
all in the relatively slow tempo range of 60 to 80 beats a minute
-- twice as slow as energetic dance music. The positive effect
was greatest in the second and third weeks of the study, suggesting
that people who want to try music should stick with it long enough
for the body to become trained to associate the music with sleep,
says study co-author Marion Good, a Case Western research nurse
Experts say music is no miracle cure for sleeplessness -- but
it's harmless, nonaddictive and generally costs less than $30.
Robert D. Ballard, medical director of the Advanced Center for
Sleep Medicine at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver
says music can -- along with better-known remedies such as chamomile
tea or warm milk -- establish a calming bedtime ritual. You don't
necessarily need to buy music marketed as a sleep aid, experts
say, but do be careful to choose slow and soft pieces. You should
like the music, Dr. Ballard adds, but not love it so much that
it keeps you awake.
If your insomnia is caused by a physical disorder such as sleep
apnea or a profound mental disturbance, physicians say, you'll
likely need medical or psychological interventions to get significant
relief.
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