The sound of the bugle is supposed to wake us up while a lullaby is supposed to put us to sleep. Stereotypes ? Are there really genres of music more conducive to sleep? A team of Dutch and Danish scientists examined more than 225,000 songs, slow or fast, soft or energetic, in order to better understand the audio parameters of what we use for sleep and to search for possible “universal characteristics”. Their research is published this Wednesday in the magazine PLOS One.
Sleep problems are, unfortunately, frequent in our modern societies, and “epidemiological studies show that up to 46% of respondents say they use music to help them fall asleep”, detail Rebecca Jane Scarratt, from the University of Aarhus (Denmark) and her colleagues, “which can significantly improve sleep in adult populations.”
“The habit of using music to improve sleep may be rooted in the universal propensity of parents to sing lullabies to their babies, they point out. Research indicates that even unfamiliar lullabies from different cultures reduce arousal, heart rate and pupil size in babies. It has thus been hypothesized that music facilitates sleep by reducing arousal. It can happen physiologically or psychologically through a plausible emotional response.
This article is for subscribers only. Take advantage of our special offers without obligation.
WHERE
Google Exclusive: 6.99€/month
By choosing this promotional subscription path, you accept the deposit of an analysis cookie by Google.
