Sleep plays an important role in a growing child’s health and development, so any new parent will be interested in if their baby is getting enough sleep. It helps prepare their bodies for the next day and plays an important role in producing hormones that support their growth. It also benefits their memory function and learning abilities, as well as positively influencing their immune system. As important as sleep is, sometimes a baby just can’t get to sleep or won’t sleep well. For centuries music has played a key part is a child life, with lullabies passing from generation to generation.
How will music help my baby sleep?
Sleep Quality
A 2005 study on the effects of background music and sleep quality found that children who listen to background music at naptime and bedtime had improved sleep quality. Additionally, it’s been found by numerous studies that relaxing classical music is an effective manner to reduce sleeping problems.
Boost Brain Development
Even when we’re sleeping or close to falling asleep, the human brain is actively taking in information. A study from Northwestern University found that when a person is sound asleep, they are still listening and learning. It is believed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children that musical experiences in early childhood can support babies and toddlers understanding of themselves and their feelings. It can help young children learn to decipher patterns and solve problems, in addition to discovering the world around them.
Pain Reduction
The body’s emotional response to music can influence the way we respond to pain. In fact, an experiment carried out by Great Ormond Street Hospital found that when they played lullabies and children’s songs for their patients, their heart rates and reported levels of pain were lower during music therapy compared to the levels when they read or were left alone.
The Best Songs to Get Your Baby Asleep
Baby Mozart
Numerous studies have found that classical music can improve concentration and brainpower in children when they listen from a young age. Commonly considered the Mozart effect, it’s a great method for calm your baby. What better way to help your baby fall asleep than with this classical album from Disney, featuring s selection of Mozart’s greatest works?
Weightless by Marconi Union
Sound therapists and Manchester band Marconi Union teamed up to produce the ultimate relaxing track using proven elements of scientific theory to create “Weightless”. Research by the British Academy of Sound Therapy found that it was able to lower blood pressure, slow heart rate and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) at unprecedented rates.
Gentle Rain Sound
White noise such as gentle rain mimics the sounds a baby will remember from the womb. A study of new-borns found that 80% exposed to white noise dozed off within five minutes, while only 25% of those without the background noise fell asleep as quickly.
Moon River composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Famous for its appearance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s the Oscar-winning song originally sang by Audrey Hepburn is a popular choice to sing a baby to sleep for its soft and sombre tone.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
With the lyrics based on an early nineteenth-century poem by Jane Taylor and music based on a French Melody from 1761, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is an ongoing favourite to get a baby to sleep.
What are your favourite songs to get your baby to sleep? Let us know who your top picks are below. Whether your baby loves classical or will only sleep to football anthems, we want to know all about your Majority experience. Tag us on social media with @majorityaudio #majorityaudio #carbonneutralaudio #lovequalitysound #soundasleep #whitenoise
