This is why older people can listen to music and get a good night’s sleep.

If you have trouble sleeping, listening to music can help you fall asleep safely, effectively and easily. Please suggest new discoveries. Research.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that listening to music improved sleep in the elderly.

Researchers at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Taiwan combined past findings to understand the impact of listening to music on sleep quality in the elderly. Their work suggests that:

-Elderly people (60 years old and over) living at home can sleep well by listening to music for 30 minutes to 1 hour at bedtime.

-Gentle music improves sleep quality in the elderly over rhythmic music.

-Elderly people need to listen to music for at least 4 weeks to see the greatest benefits of listening to music.

Why older people can’t sleep well

As we grow older, our sleep cycle changes, making it harder to achieve a good night’s sleep. What does it mean to get a good night’s sleep? If you were resting and awake and ready to start the day, you probably slept deep the night before. However, if you are tired during the day, need coffee to continue, or wake up several times in the middle of the night, you may not get the deep sleep you need. According to the National Institute on Aging, older people need 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

However, studies show that 40-70% of older people have sleep disorders and more than 40% have insomnia. That is, you wake up frequently in the middle of the night or in the early morning. Sleep disorders can be frustrating, depressed, cause memory problems, and lead to falls and accidents.

How researchers studied the effects of music on sleep quality in the elderly

For their study, researchers searched past studies that tested the effects of listening to music on older people with sleep disorders who lived at home. They examined five studies by 288 participants. Half of these people were listening to music. The other half received the usual treatment for sleep disorders or no treatment at all. People treated with music listened to either calm or rhythmic music for 30 minutes to an hour over a period of two to three months. (Calm music has a slow tempo of 60-80 beats per minute and smooth melodies, rhythmic music is faster and bigger.) How well do all participants think they are sleeping? Answered the question about. Each participant finished with a score of 0 to 21 for sleep quality.

The researchers examined the following differences in average scores:

-People who listened to music compared to those who didn’t.

-People who listen to gentle music compared to those who listen to rhythmic music.

-And those who listened to music for less than 4 weeks compared to those who listened to music for more than 4 weeks.

What researchers have learned

Listening to soothing music at bedtime improved the quality of sleep in the elderly, and soothing music was far superior to rhythmic music in improving sleep quality. Researchers say that calming music can slow down your heart rate and improve sleep by breathing and lowering your blood pressure. This in turn helps reduce your level of stress and anxiety.

Researchers have also learned that listening to music for more than four weeks is better than listening to music for a short period of time to improve sleep quality.

Research limits

-Researchers only looked at studies published in English and Chinese. This means that you may have missed research in other languages ​​on the effects of listening to music on sleep in the elderly.

-Results may not apply to older people with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

-In the studies used by the researchers, those who listened to music received more attention from the researchers than those who received or did not receive standard treatment for sleep disorders. This means that improved sleep in the music therapy group may be due to its special attention.

-Because different types of music were used in different studies, researchers could not identify which type of calm music improved sleep the most.

-Everyone who participated in the study had a similar type of sleep disorder. This means that listening to music may not help people with other types of sleep disorders.