Claim reviewed: Listening to calm music before bed may improve subjective sleep quality.
What do we know?
A Cochrane review of 13 randomised trials in adults with sleep difficulties found that 25-60 minutes of music a day improved subjective sleep quality with moderate certainty. A narrative review found the most effective music was slow (60-80 bpm), soft in melody, instrumental and simple, with 30-45 minutes suggested.
What don't we know?
No improvement in objective sleep measures was shown. The studies used prerecorded, human-made music; whether simple melodies generated on the device have the same effect has not been tested. Risk of bias is high because participants cannot be blinded to music.
Wording we use in the app: A slow, calm melody accompanies your bedtime routine; there is moderate-certainty evidence that listening to music can improve subjective sleep quality.
Sources (2)
Jespersen ve ark. 2022 · Systematic review · 13 studies · 1,007 participants
A Cochrane review of 13 randomised trials (1007 participants) of music listening in adults with sleep difficulties. Listening to prerecorded music for 25-60 minutes a day improved subjective sleep quality compared with no intervention, with moderate certainty. Low-certainty benefits were found for sleep-onset latency, total sleep time and sleep efficiency; three studies with objective measures suggest music may not improve these. No adverse events were reported.
Sleep quality (PSQI): mean difference −2.79 (95% CI −3.86 to −1.72), 10 studies, 708 participants
All studies have high risk of performance bias because participants could not be blinded to music. The certainty rating applies to subjective sleep quality.
Jespersen KV, Pando-Naude V, Koenig J, Jennum P, Vuust P. Listening to music for insomnia in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;8(8):CD010459. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010459.pub3 PMID 36000763 Go to source
Pan ve Wang 2025 · Review
A narrative review drawing on randomised trials and meta-analyses: the most effective music was slow (60-80 bpm), soft and smooth in melody, instrumental and simple in structure. Suggested use is 30-45 minutes a day before bed at a comfortable volume. Long-term effects and mechanisms remain unclear.
Pan EY, Wang W. Elements of music that work to improve sleep, a narrative review. Front Sleep. 2025;4:1707162. doi:10.3389/frsle.2025.1707162 PMID 41425167 Go to source
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · Next review: 3 April 2027