Sleep may be affected by the aging process. The study involved two groups of people between the ages of 60 and 83 with difficulty in sleeping. Participants were screened using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. People in the group suffered from depression, cognitive impairment, or medical or environmental problems that interfered with sleep. Users of sleep medication, meditation, or caffeine at bedtime were excluded.
Half the participants were given a choice of six soft, slow music tapes and were instructed to listen to the music for 45 minutes before trying to fall asleep. The control group listened to no music.
The results: Those who listened to music experienced physical changes, including lower heart and respiratory rates that led to more restful sleep.
"The difference between the music group and the control group was clinically significant," stated lead author Hui-ling Lai of the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital and Tzu-Chi University in Taiwan. She went on to say that the group who listened to music showed 26 percent improvement in the first week and that figure continued to rise the longer they kept up the practice.
Music works as a sort of sedative and could be a method of improving sleep without the use of medication, especially in older people who often take far too much medication already.
Remember, you should listen to slow, soft music. Fast, loud music would have the opposite effect, so avoid loud rap, heavy metal or rousing orchestral music.
