We don’t mean to be too inquisitive about your, um, bedroom habits, but we would like to know this: how well do you sleep at night? Are you lucky enough to fall into deep and relaxing slumber, or are you tossing and turning all night long?

If you are like most people, chances are that you sometimes (or maybe often) have difficulties falling – or staying – asleep. If you’ve tried natural remedies like drinking warm milk before bed or counting sheep, but sleep still eludes you, music may be a great remedy. Several studies conducted in recent years have demonstrated not only that certain types of music promote restful sleep, but also that listening to music during sleep could enhance brainpower and lead to better memory.

Land of Nod

We know that lullabies help fussy babies catch some zzzz’s, but what kind of music will lull adults to sleep? For most people, heavy metal is probably not the most effective sleep inducer, unless, of course, you are a hardened Metallica fan and find the group’s biggest hit, “Enter Sandman ” to be a Zen-like experience. For the majority of us, however, soft and smooth sounds have a more relaxing and calming effect. In fact, psychologist Dave Elliot of the University of Cumbria found that the most relaxing music features 90 beats per minute, a 4/4 beat, piano and strings, and narrow note sequences where the notes move from low to high. What does this tune sound like? The aptly named “World’s Most Relaxing Music ” may just do the trick. Then there is a new 8-hour long piece of music by British composer Max Richter, which is believed to be the longest “lullaby” ever recorded. Titled “Sleep,” it will premiere in Berlin in September from 12pm to 8am. The audience will be given beds instead of seats. It will probably be the first time in history that a concert’s success will be judged by how many people fell asleep during the performance!

Night sounds

If you can’t be in Berlin for this particular concert, or can’t wait until September to get a good night’s sleep, you may try listening to these calm and soothing tunes: Binaural sounds
Deep sleep music
Weightless music
Dream music
Relaxing music
Delta waves

A hard day’s night

Many musical instruments can play soothing and relaxing tunes – for instance, the flute, harp, sitar, or the violin. Also, many items that don’t fall into the strict category of musical instruments produce the most beautiful and relaxing sounds: Tibetan “singing” bowls or wind chimes , for instance. And what about our music teachers? Rest assured that when they give you a music lesson, they will never (intentionally) put you to sleep! We guarantee that no matter what time of day or evening they show up at your Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Riverdale home or office, you’ll never catch them napping!

Photo by unknown, available under Creative Commons License

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