Can Music Be the Key to Better Sleep Or Your Worst Nightmare? (My Communication Studies Speech)

My CAPE exams are just around the corner, so all Internal Assessments are being submitted and marked. For my Communication Studies IA, I had to do a speech. Luckily, I scored full marks (14/14), which includes marks for discussion, organization, delivery, and evaluation. In celebration of this achievement, I have decided to share it with you guys as it incorporates neuroscience and music, which are my two favorite things in the world, so here we go:

"Have you ever noticed how a simple melody can make you feel calm, energized, or even help you drift off to sleep? Music has an almost magical ability to influence our minds and bodies in ways we don’t fully understand. Good morning/afternoon, teachers. My name is Faith Graham, and this fascinating connection between music and the brain inspired me to choose 'The Effect of Music' as the theme for my Internal Assessment, with a special focus on 'Music and its Impact on Sleep.’ According to research, music may either enhance or interfere with sleeping patterns.  My goal is to examine the reasons behind this and the supporting data on the impact of music on sleep. Additionally, I have a particular interest in this topic for both intellectual and personal reasons. Having played the piano for two years and being an aspiring pediatric psychiatrist, I have a strong interest in psychological interventions such as music therapy.

To aid in this research, I used one primary source, a questionnaire that received 31 responses from people who listen to music regularly. The questionnaire had 15 closed-ended (multiple-choice) questions that were divided into four categories: the first four asked about demographic information, the next set asked about the frequency and type of music listened to, the other set asked about the perceived effects of music on their sleep and the final questions explored participants' general perceptions of music as a sleep aid. The closed-ended questions made it simpler to compare and analyze the data, yielding trustworthy insights into trends and patterns. Despite being small, the sample size of 31 responses was relevant since the participants were people who actively listened to music, which allowed for the collection of valuable information.

The first secondary source I used to conduct my research is an article entitled “Music and Sleep” by Rob Newsom and Dr. Anis Rehman, published by the Sleep Foundation on November 8, 2023.  This article is reliable for a number of  reasons. To begin with, Rob Newsom, one of the authors, has a great deal of expertise because he worked for decades as a science writer at the National Cancer Institute, and he was also a mental health counselor. Furthermore, Dr. Anis Rehman, a board-certified physician with expertise in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, also contributes to the article. His research publications and extensive training give the topic a great deal of medical authority. 

The second secondary source I used to conduct my research is an article entitled “Study finds listening to music before bed can worsen your sleep by inducing long-lasting earworms” by Beth Ellwood, published by PsyPost on November 5, 2021. This article is reliable for a variety of reasons, including the fact that Beth Ellwood, the writer, has a degree in Psychology and Behavioral Science from McGill University, which gives her a strong academic foundation for reporting on psychological research. Furthermore, her vast experience as a freelance writer specializing in mental health allows her to communicate research findings to a general audience.  

During my research, I encountered several challenges. One major issue was the abundance of contradicting data on the effects of music on sleep, so I had to carefully select sources that were current and authored by knowledgeable professionals to ensure reliability. The questionnaire's design presented another difficulty. In order to properly capture the participants' experiences with music and sleep, I had to formulate objective, unambiguous questionnaire questions, which was a bit challenging.

A number of observations regarding the effects of music on sleep are revealed by the questionnaire's results. Regarding the type of music the participants listen to before bed, 51.6% of respondents chose pop music while 32.3% of respondents chose ambient noises like rain or ocean waves. This suggests that people are drawn to more recognizable or lively music, such as pop.  Ambient sounds, on the other hand, like rain or ocean waves, are more calming and less stimulating to the mind. As for the benefits of music for sleep, 51.6% of respondents said they felt much more relaxed after listening to it, and 45.2% said they felt a little more relaxed. Additionally, 70% of participants said they had never woken up because they had music "stuck" in their minds, indicating that music does not typically cause disruptions during the night. However, 25.8% of respondents did occasionally wake up, suggesting that different people respond differently to different types of music. Regarding dream quality, 12.9% os respondents reported having better and more vivid dreams, while 74.2% said there had been no change. This implies that music has less consistent impacts on dreams even while it promotes relaxation and a faster onset of sleep.

On the other hand, my first secondary source, the article "Music and Sleep," focuses on how music may be used as a useful tool to improve sleep quality. It highlights that people of all ages can benefit from listening to music, from adults to babies. According to research cited in the article, music can "shorten the time it takes to fall asleep"; for instance, a study of women with insomnia found that listening to music every night shortened their time to sleep from 27 to 69 minutes to as low as 6 to 13 minutes. Furthermore, the author goes on to explain that listening to music before bed not only makes it easier to fall asleep but also increases sleep efficiency, meaning that more time is spent sleeping in bed. Moreover, the study states that music "decreases levels of cortisol," which helps relieve tension and anxiety. Additionally, the production of dopamine from enjoyable listening experiences increases pleasant emotions and lessens pain, which causes less sleep disruptions.

In contrast to my first secondary source's discussion of the benefits of music for sleep, the article "Study Finds Listening to Music Before Bed Can Worsen Your Sleep by Inducing Long-Lasting Earworms" makes the argument that music listening before bed may have a detrimental influence on the quality of your sleep. According to a study that was published in Psychological Science, cited in the article, nearly 25% of participants who listened to well-known songs before bed woke up in the middle of the night with the tune "stuck" in their heads. This condition is called an earworm. Earworms were found to be more likely to occur in music with quick tempos and appealing melodies, which are typical of popular music. Furthermore, in a sleep lab trial, participants who listened to the instrumental versions of songs reported having much worse sleep than those who listened to lyrical music. Lastly, numerous studies show that the brain continues to absorb music while you sleep, and "the more you listen to music, the more likely you are to catch an earworm at night," which causes sleep disturbance. 

In conclusion, for my research on music’s impact on sleep, I used a questionnaire and two reliable secondary sources. The questionnaire revealed that music helps most people relax and sleep better, however, individual differences may exist in how it affects interruptions and dreams. The first secondary source, the article “Music and Sleep”, highlighted music’s benefits for reducing stress and improving sleep, while the second, the article “Study Finds Listening to Music Before Bed Can Worsen Your Sleep by Inducing Long-Lasting Earworms”, discussed the disruptive effects of music on sleep through earworms. Both sources were credible, supported by expert authors and respected publishers. Despite contrasting findings, my research underscores music's varied and individualized impact on sleep.

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