"please keep me updated about oximeters "
Sleep Apnea Forum Bringing Power to the Patient
New? Free Sign Up
Then check our Welcome Center to a Community Caring about Sleep Apnea diagnosis and Sleep Apnea treatment:
CPAP machines, Sleep Apnea surgery and dental appliances.
CPAP Supplies
Latest Activity
Does music help with insomnia?
I have been insomnia for a while and a friend of mine recommended me a web to listen to natural music, since then my sleeping quality has improved a lot, but I am wondering if the natural
music really helps me with insomnia or it is just an mental suggestion, does any
one in this group know any scientific basis about this natual music? Thanks a
lot !
Views: 222
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Judy on
-
I don't know anything about "natural music", but I do know I like my music. And, I've taken my laptop w/some of my favorite music w/me to most of my in-lab PSGs and let it play all night and it is at those PSGs that I've slept the best and the longest. I didn't take it w/me to my recent "wasted" re-titration because my granddaughter had it. And the re-titration was "wasted" because I didn't sleep for beans.- or enough.
Its not "classical" music, its just music I've collected thru the years, from 45s and 33 LPs to some 8 tracks and tapes. And its a mixture of songs I like from Bert Kaempfert's "Echoes In The Night" to Johnny Cash's "All Alone"; from Jay & The American's "Cara Mia" to Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk", from Elvis Presley's "Don't Leave Me Now" to Duane Eddy's "Angel On My Shoulder", from Bobby Helms' "Fraulein" to Tex Ritter's "Green Grow The Lilacs", etc.
-
Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
-
One of the best recordings I have found for sleep is a cd called Illuminations, it was given to me by a therapist. It's by JS Epperson and I haven't been able to find another copy. I rarely hear the end of it, and unlike many sleep cd's I find it doesn't have the "spooky" type of sound. I don't know about scientific proof, but unless I am real upset about something it's extraordinarily effective. I haven't found any other of his recordings that have the same effect.
I would be interested in anyone's opinion about good cd's to sleep by. I don't like words and I don't like the otherworldly type of music (sorry I can't describe it better) of the typical sleep cd which often propose to take you from alpha to delta.
-
-
Depends on what type of music you like, MaryZ, but I would think mellow instrumental melodies would be soothing. I know I really like Chet Atkins' guitar work and Floyd Cramer's piano work and have several LPs by both. I copied the mellow songs off their LPs to my 'puter and burned them to a CD and also have them on a flash drive. Same w/Santo & Johnny w/their steel guitar and guitar and w/Duane Eddy's "Silky Strings and "Twangy Guitar".
I like Roxio's SoundStream and Easy CD Creator for copying the 45s, LPs and tapes to my 'puter and then burning them to CD. That way I have just my favorites rather than the full album or tape. I have "happy" music (lots of polkas), "mood" music, etc. folders on my 'puter and then for other times just a good mix. I bought good speakers for my 'puter and if my 'puter is on my favorite music almost always is too.
As a kid I danced w/my parents a lot. My husband and I virtually lived to roller skate and dance anf find it a big sorrow that his back and my lungs no longer allow much more than 1/2 a dance. Many is the "bar" that was "dead" until we got there and roaring when we left - IF we left - and then only to go to another we thought had a better band.. We were always the first ones on the dance floor and the last ones off the dance floor. My current goal in life is for us to dance to my oldest granddaughter's solo of "Echo In The Night" at her high school dance band's Winter Wonderland fund raising dance and dinner next January..
-
Permalink Reply by 99 on
-
it is according to the individual and also probably how loud or how suttle
everybodies taste is different and also what one is used to
like someone cannot sleep without a light on simply because of being used to a shining road lamp outside a bedroom window or city dwellers cannot sleep without the noise of traffic passing by
-
Permalink Reply by RL on
-
I have become addicted to listening to some type of music when I go to sleep, which I started long before my sleep apnea diagnosis and have found it very helpful for times I would awaken during the night, to help get back to sleep quickly. This happened much more frequently before CPAP. I use some flat speakers under my pillow hooked up to my ipod. I make playlists from a wide variety of music from my library and also enjoy listening to audiobooks this way. I make playlists for sleep, of music that is most soothing and least likely to wake me during sleep. I used this during my sleep studies as well with no problem. I like to vary what I listen to and have built a collection of a genre sometimes referred to as "ambient". I find most harp music especially soothing and certain classical works, especially those of J.S. Bach. A good resource for ambient music is Hearts of Space which does a radio broadcast in many places and also sells recordings of their playlists. http://www.hos.com/
I'm a little skeptical of the link provided by jason as the info there seems to be less professional and so I would wonder about the source. I did google Mary Z's reference to J.S. Epperson which I had not run across before. It seems he is pairing ambient music with underlying brainwave patterns to help the brain shift to different frequencies. I have some similar recordings from other artists as noted in the following excerpt from a previous post:
"I have been considering experimenting with some audio recordings that have music or nature sounds with underlying rhythms that simulate specific brain wave patterns to help reset my brain during the day. Some of the ones I have found have several different offerings with varying brain wave patterns for specific purposes. Many of them run for about 30 minutes and so would require a similar time frame to utilize. They also recommend using head phones to create the needed effect. Look up Kelly Howell and/or Brainsync.com, also Dr. Jeffrey Thompson has some recordings for this purpose. I put them on my i pod and also have some flat speakers I use under my pillow at night with my i pod. I am not sure of the scientific validity of this but I believe it is of value, and is related to biofeedback. It is an extra boost for resetting the brain like vpap helps reset breathing."
I think this brainwave technology has some validity, but with regular music, anything that you associate with something positive, that helps you relax and direct your thinking away from anything bothering you can be helpful, whether you have insomnia or not. If you can use an audio system with speakers in your bedroom without disturbing someone else, that is good. The speakers under the pillow allows for people sharing a bed to listen to different things. Either way, it is worth a try if you have trouble sleeping. For me, it is part of sleep hygiene.
-
-
Mary Z said:
"I would be interested in anyone's opinion about good cd's to sleep by. I don't like words and I don't like the otherworldly type of music (sorry I can't describe it better) of the typical sleep cd which often propose to take you from alpha to delta."
Some of the artists I like for sleep include: R. Carlos Nakai, Hearts of Space: Universe 4 (a compilation of artists), Carol Koenig (harpist), Julian Bream (guitar/Bach), Michael Hedges (guitar - some songs), Patrick Ball (harpist), Paul Horn, Shastro & Nadama, Alex DeGrassi, Joanne Shenandoah, Enya, Catrin Finch (harp especially "Goldberg Variations"). With some artists, I select only certain songs for a sleep playlist. Sometimes I include a mellow pop tune in there, like Beach Boys "The Warmth of the Sun".
I know what you mean about "otherworldly" music. We call this "floaty music", which has almost no rhythm at all. I tend not to prefer that when I am just falling asleep, but it is o.k. later when I am in deeper sleep.
-
-
Sounds like you've got a great collection of music there, and some great memories too. I'll have to check out some of those musicians more. I love guitar music and an occasional polka too!
Judy said:I know I really like Chet Atkins' guitar work and Floyd Cramer's piano work and have several LPs by both. I copied the mellow songs off their LPs to my 'puter and burned them to a CD and also have them on a flash drive. Same w/Santo & Johnny w/their steel guitar and guitar and w/Duane Eddy's "Silky Strings and "Twangy Guitar".
I like Roxio's SoundStream and Easy CD Creator for copying the 45s, LPs and tapes to my 'puter and then burning them to CD. That way I have just my favorites rather than the full album or tape. I have "happy" music (lots of polkas), "mood" music, etc. folders on my 'puter and then for other times just a good mix. I bought good speakers for my 'puter and if my 'puter is on my favorite music almost always is too.
As a kid I danced w/my parents a lot. My husband and I virtually lived to roller skate and dance anf find it a big sorrow that his back and my lungs no longer allow much more than 1/2 a dance. Many is the "bar" that was "dead" until we got there and roaring when we left - IF we left - and then only to go to another we thought had a better band.. We were always the first ones on the dance floor and the last ones off the dance floor. My current goal in life is for us to dance to my oldest granddaughter's solo of "Echo In The Night" at her high school dance band's Winter Wonderland fund raising dance and dinner next January..
-
-
RL, my favorite sis-in-law's name is Alice. Jimmy Sturr has a good, but funny polka, "Who The Hell Is Alice". She is also French Canadian. Ian Tyson, a revered Canadian singer, actually did a polka called "Horsethief Moon". He and his ex-wife, Sylvia Tyson, did a duet of "Crazy Arms" partially in Canadian french. I put those 3 songs plus a few others I thought she might like on a CD and sent it to her. She was thrilled and we had a good laugh over "Who The Hell Is Alice".
I recently had some outpatient surgery. I DETEST being put under sedation. But I had a great CRNA w/a delightful sense of humor who really succeeded in overcoming my grumpiness about the sedation. So I made a copy of The Laryngospasms' "Breathe" and "Waking Up Is Hard To Do" on a CD and sent it to him at the Outpatient Surgical center. He actually called me to thank me and tell me how much fun they had with it amongst the staff.
-
-
Thanks for bringing this thread to my attention, Mary Z.! Basically, any music that works for you is ideal, right? The following are just suggestions. If Elvis or Duane Eddy work for you then by all means listen to them! Having said that, there are some general guidelines for selecting music for sleep:
1) Instrumental music is best, as words engage the left brain and increase your level of alertness.
2) Music with a moderate tempo that slows down over a period of time is best. Your body - your heart rate and other rhythms - will begin to synchronize to what you are listening to. Try to pick music that slows you down!
3) Music with very predictable melodies and/or unresolved melodies can lead you to sleep quicker. Complicated melodies engage more of the brain which will increase your level of alertness and may keep you up.
4) Binaural beats and/or Hemi-Sync that engage theta and delta brainwaves are also helpful tools - do a search for delta music, you might find something.
Good luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Walt Service on
-
As I tell all my patients: If it works for you...use it. If it doesn't, stop.
My taste in music leans towards my punkrock days of early B52s and DEVO...so I don't listen to music when I sleep... But I use, like many others, a white noise machines. My current one is a Brookstone product that had 12 different sounds on it. I guess some are soothing like music, but hard to pogo to :)
-
-
I have used a CD of the sound of waves as I grew up near the ocean and could hear it at night.. also gentle rain sounds. Dr J. Thompson's Delta Sleep seemed as if it was going to work... but that was before I had my diagnostic sleep study done. It worked and then... stopped with rebound!
© 2025 Created by The SleepGuide Crew.
Powered by
