What, if anything, should I listen to in bed?
Lullabies and bedtime stories have long been used to soothe babies and children to sleep. Podcasts, customized music playlists, and sleep apps are the adult versions of these time-honored techniques.
Research shows that listening to some types of content as you fall asleep helps slow the heart and breathing, lowers blood pressure, and relaxes muscles. However, the key to success lies in choosing your material wisely.
• Go slow. Music or speech with a tempo of 60–80 beats per minute (BPM) that roughly mimics the human resting heart rate is proven to induce physical and mental calm. Look online for websites that list the BPM of well-known pieces of classical and popular music.
• Go low. The majority of listeners report that a deep, relaxed voice is the one most likely to lull them to sleep. Podcasts offering adult bedtime stories typically feature a warm, baritone voice recounting a series of slow-paced, meandering stories or articles.
• Avoid overstimulation. Ensure your chosen content isn’t too energizing; just before bed is definitely not the time to listen to dance music, a controversial debate, or a side-splitting comedy.
Slip into silence
Most smartphones and apps allow you to set a time limit on listening. Start by setting your content to play for 15–20 minutes—you can lengthen the playing time if you find you’re still awake when the device goes to sleep.
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TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
When you find a podcast or music that helps, it’s natural to rely on it to put you to sleep. However, your response diminishes a little with every exposure, and the content can become less effective over time. If you start to fear that your trusty sleep aid won’t work, this can lead to anxiety or worsen an existing condition.
If this is an issue for you, CBTI, either online or face-to-face, can help you work out ways to reduce your reliance on external tools for sleep.
YOUR SLEEP ENVIRONMENT | What, if anything, should I listen to in bed?
APP TYPES
• De-stressors Apps offering guided meditations and visualizations or self-hypnosis help the body and brain relax. Journaling apps can help you process thoughts before bed.
• Background noise Apps that play white or pink noise can help cancel out annoying, sleep-disrupting sounds around you, such as street noise. See here for more on this.
• Natural sounds Ambient noises from nature, such as rainfall, ocean waves, or rustling leaves, have a consistent, predictable rhythm that is profoundly soothing for the brain. They help lower your stress response, relaxing you for sleep.