Music for Sleep: Impacts of Arousal, Relaxation, and Individual Trait

This study investigates the effects of music listening on sleep quality, focusing on the relationship between individual music preferences, arousal levels, and sleep onset latency (SOL), which utilized a crossover design with 19 healthy participants to compare the effects of listening to preferred music versus white noise before bedtime. According to the self-assessed Insomnia Severity Index, 12 participants had no clinically significant insomnia, 4 exhibited subthreshold insomnia, and 3 reported moderate clinical insomnia. Two repeated measures of electroencephalography (EEG) were collected to assess objective sleep metrics, while subjective measures included self-reported sleep quality and music background questionnaires.

Results showed that listening to preferred music could reduce objective SOL compared to listening to white noise (p = 0.02), aligning with subjective reports (p = 0.01). Secondly, EEG alpha power, an indicator of arousal, decreased significantly after both music and noise conditions (p < 0.003), suggesting that both auditory stimuli declined pre-sleep arousal. Individuals with higher musical sophistication, as measured by the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI), exhibited longer objective SOL when exposed to music (r = 0.70, p < 0.003). This effect was particularly pronounced in the subscales of GOLD-MSI.

The study revealed a complex interaction between music listening, SOL, and individual differences in music sensitivity and training. While preferred music generally reduced SOL, those with advanced musical training showed delaying SOL, implying potentially increased cognitive engagement during music listening. These findings highlight the importance of considering individual musical backgrounds when implementing music-based sleep interventions.
This research investigates how auditory stimuli affect sleep patterns and emphasizes the role of individual differences in music processing. Limitations should be addressed for future study such as small sample size and short sleep duration to further validate the efficacy of music as a sleep aid across diverse populations.