The Benefits of Playing Music to Children at Bedtime (2024)

FAQs

Is it good for children to sleep with music on? ›

A study on the effects of background music and sleep quality found that children who listen to background music at naptime and bedtime had improved sleep quality.

Music improves sleep through calming parts of the autonomic nervous system, leading to slower breathing, lower heart rate, and reduced blood pressure. Many people with poor sleep associate their bedrooms with frustration and sleepless nights.

How can music help develop a young child's brain? Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. Learning to play a musical instrument can improve mathematical learning, and even increases school scores.

The best sleep music for kids

As with adults, music with a tempo between 60 and 80 beats per minute has a relaxing effect on kids, says Goldstein. “It slows your heart rate down, slows your breathing down, quiets your nervous system, and really helps the body calm down,” he explains.

Playing music can improve your sleep efficiency. This means you get better quality sleep and don't wake up as often. Hormone regulation. Studies show that music reduces the number of stress hormones in your body.

As per studies, slow music or classical music is more relaxing that can help you sleep. As per studies, slow music or classical music is more relaxing that can help you sleep. Classical music or instrumental music can help slow the pulse and decrease levels of stress hormones.

Finally, the hormone melatonin may also play a role in why music sounds better at night. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle, and its levels increase at night. Research suggests that melatonin may enhance our perception of sound, making music sound richer and more immersive.

In a review paper published in The Carlat Report, Koskey found listening to music reduces the overall severity of insomnia, improves sleep quality and helps to initiate sleep. The effect was comparable to prescription sleep medications, such as the Z-drugs and benzodiazepines.

This active engagement fosters self-awareness, empathy, and relationship-building skills. Additionally, music provides a safe and non-threatening environment for children to explore and express their emotions, helping them develop emotional intelligence and self-regulation.

By strengthening the brain, improving concentration, and boosting performance in subjects such as math, English, and science, music education has tremendous value in helping kids and teens with learning differences flourish in school.

Why music matters for kids? ›

Singing and musical stories can help children with vocabulary and reading skills, understanding lyrics and word play. Exposure to a wide vocabulary through music can help children learn to communicate verbally and make learning to read more fun. Music also has a demonstrable effect on those with memory impairment.

Music may expose the child to challenges and multi-sensory experiences which enhance learning abilities and encourage cognitive development. In particular, music can also engage cognitive functions, such as planning, working memory, inhibition, and flexibility. These functions are known as executive functions (EF).

It has been shown that music reduces stress and anxiety, promoting well-being and aiding in healthy child development. These cognitive effects are mainly seen when children have active exposure to music, such as learning to play an instrument or taking voice lessons.

Researchers have suggested that exposure to violent music lyrics has been linked to emotional and behavioral problems, including aggression, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, and suicide. One study found a relationship between violent song lyrics and an increase in aggressive thoughts and feelings of hostility.

Babies who become accustomed to falling asleep to music every night may have a harder time falling back to sleep later in the night, when the music is off. We don't recommend leaving the music on all night as it may disrupt sleep quality.

Music, soothing lullabies, or white noise can all be used when trying to get your baby to sleep. While they can help relax your baby into a state of deep sleep, it's not recommended to keep these sounds playing throughout the night.

Music has proven effects on our brains from childhood till adulthood. During the first couple of months after birth, the brain processes music in specialized areas. It helps the baby connect, communicate, move, relax, coordinate, and feel pleasure. Lullabies calm down babies and put them to sleep.

In conclusion, there are several reasons why music sounds better at night. Reduced ambient noise, diminished sensory input, emotional connection, psychological factors, and the hormone melatonin all contribute to the heightened listening experience.