Does Relaxing Music Always Help You Sleep?

A quiet piano melody, a familiar song, a playlist labelled “deep sleep”: music offers an appealing way to end the day. Research gives that appeal some substance. Listening to music can improve how people rate their sleep, although it does not reliably improve every aspect of sleep—and some listening experiences may be disruptive.[1,2]

The useful question is therefore less whether music is universally good for sleep, and more when it helps, what kind of benefit to expect, and how to recognise whether it suits you.

What the research supports

A 2022 Cochrane review brought together 13 studies involving 1,007 adults with sleep difficulties. Participants listened to prerecorded music daily for 25–50 minutes, with interventions lasting from three days to three months. Compared with usual care or no intervention, music probably improved self-reported sleep quality. The reviewers rated that evidence as moderate certainty.[1]

This is an encouraging finding, but its scope matters. Evidence about insomnia severity was uncertain, and confidence in findings about falling asleep faster, sleeping longer, and spending more time asleep while in bed was lower. Participants also knew whether they were receiving music, which could influence their ratings. The strongest conclusion concerns perceived sleep quality, rather than a guaranteed increase in sleep duration.[1]

Feeling better about sleep is a meaningful—but distinct—outcome

A 2019 randomised trial illustrates the distinction. Researchers assigned 57 people with insomnia to bedtime music, an audiobook, or a waiting-list group. Music improved perceived sleep and quality of life, but the study found no changes in objective sleep measurements and no clear effect on overall insomnia severity.[3]

Objective measurements included polysomnography, which records sleep physiology, and actigraphy, which estimates sleep from movement. These assess different things from a questionnaire about how someone experienced the night. The trial therefore supports a specific benefit: music may make sleep feel better without producing a detectable change in the measured sleep outcomes.[3]

That distinction should shape expectations. A more comfortable bedtime or a better experience of sleep can be worthwhile; it should not automatically be described as more deep sleep or treatment of insomnia.

Why music may help some listeners

People use bedtime music for more than relaxation. In a 2018 survey of 651 respondents, listeners described using it to redirect attention from worrying thoughts, mask environmental sounds, and create a familiar bedtime routine. These accounts suggest several possible routes through which music might support settling down.[4]

However, the survey captured people’s experiences and beliefs, rather than testing whether those mechanisms caused better sleep. Its value lies partly in showing how varied those experiences are: respondents named 14 musical genres and 545 artists. There was no single shared musical formula.[4]

More recent research reinforces the importance of personal response. A 2025 listening experiment found that subjective qualities—including comfort, liking, and perceived arousal—predicted whether music seemed sleep-inducing better than its acoustic features alone. Crucially, participants rated musical excerpts; the researchers did not establish that those ratings translated into better overnight sleep.[5]

For choosing a playlist, the reasonable implication is to consider how the music makes you feel, rather than relying entirely on its title, genre, or advertised purpose.

When relaxing music becomes distracting

One potential complication is the “earworm”: a tune that keeps repeating in the mind. A 2021 study investigated bedtime music through a survey and a laboratory experiment. In the experiment, researchers recruited 50 young adults to hear either familiar pop songs or instrumental versions of the same songs before bed.[2]

The instrumental group took longer to fall asleep and spent a smaller proportion of time in bed asleep than the group hearing lyrics. Nighttime earworms were also associated with poorer sleep. Yet participants in both groups reported feeling more relaxed after listening—a reminder that immediate relaxation and subsequent sleep do not always move together.[2]

The limitations are important. The experiment used specific, familiar songs, and it had no silent comparison group. It does not show that instrumental music generally harms sleep, or that lyrics are universally preferable. It does suggest that removing words from a catchy tune does not necessarily make it a better bedtime choice.[2]

How to try music thoughtfully

Treat bedtime music as an optional experiment. These suggestions combine established sleep guidance with practical ways to assess your own response:

1. Choose for comfort. Start with music you find pleasant and undemanding. If a track makes you mentally sing along or wait for the next section, try another selection or silence. Personal response is relevant, although no preference-based selection method is guaranteed to improve sleep.[2,5]
2. Keep listening contained. Try a short wind-down session at a comfortable, quiet volume. A timer is a practical option if you prefer silence afterward; it is not an established treatment requirement.
3. Protect the surrounding routine. Select the playlist beforehand, then put the screen aside. Keep a regular sleep schedule and a cool, dark bedroom. These fit established sleep-health guidance.[6]
4. Notice the night and the next day. A simple diary can record approximate sleep timing, awakenings, and daytime sleepiness. Adding whether you used music can help you look for patterns, although a personal comparison cannot prove causation.[7]
5. There is no need to persist with a playlist that repeatedly feels distracting.

A useful option within a broader approach

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute includes soothing music among activities people can use in a bedtime routine. That makes it a reasonable option for winding down, alongside other quiet activities you enjoy.[8]

If sleep difficulties persist or affect daily functioning, seek an assessment rather than continually changing playlists. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is usually recommended as the first treatment for long-term insomnia.[7,8]

Relaxing music deserves a place among the options for a more comfortable evening. Its value is best judged by your experience over time, with realistic expectations about what the research has—and has not—demonstrated.

References

1. Jespersen KV, et al. (2022). Listening to music for insomnia in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Review and evidence summary.
2. Scullin MK, et al. (2021). Bedtime Music, Involuntary Musical Imagery, and Sleep. Psychological Science. Full text.
3. Jespersen KV, et al. (2019). A randomized controlled trial of bedtime music for insomnia disorder. Journal of Sleep Research, 28, e12817. Study.
4. Trahan T, et al. (2018). The music that helps people sleep and the reasons they believe it works: A mixed methods analysis of online survey reports. PLOS ONE, 13, e0206531. Study.
5. Kirk R, et al. (2025). The relative contributions of subjective and musical factors in music for sleep. PLOS ONE, 20, e0330268. Study.
6. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Healthy Sleep Habits. Guidance.
7. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Insomnia: Diagnosis. Guidance.
8. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Insomnia: Treatment. Guidance.