Few things are as frustrating as ongoing sleep problems. There can be many contributing factors to acute or chronic insomnia, making the issue more difficult to address and resolve.
Regardless of the reason for your insomnia, it is important to recognize the negative impacts that poor sleep can have on your life. Insomnia can affect your health, your productivity, and your ability to enjoy life. Thankfully, there are some easy, natural ways to approach the insomnia battle. Many people are familiar with the benefits of meditation for sleep, but did you know that listening to spa music for sleep can also be incredibly beneficial?
Soothing music improves both sleep and relaxation, and BetterSleep offers customized sleep music options for your unique sleep needs. Spa music can even be combined with your favorite guided meditations for a doubly enhanced bedtime routine.
What’s keeping you from sleeping?
There are many factors that can contribute to insomnia. Insomnia can be experienced both as the inability to fall asleep easily, as well as the inability to sleep through the night. Both of these symptoms can keep you from getting the quality of rest needed to feel healthy and energetic during the daytime.
Stress
Stress is one of the most common contributors to insomnia. Many people have experienced lying down in bed only to have their mind start racing with thoughts of unfinished tasks. Even after a productive day, people may unconsciously run through their to-do list for the next day, which prevents them from relaxing. People affected by stress before sleep may feel an overwhelming sensation of the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Medical conditions
Common medical conditions that can make falling asleep a challenge include sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and chronic pain. It is very difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep when you are distracted by discomfort and involuntary pauses in breathing.
Depression and anxiety
When people feel depressed, they may often look to escape their troubles by sleeping more than usual. Unfortunately, this kind of sleep is not actually restful or healthy.
Poor sleep hygiene
If you do not have a healthy bedtime routine, you might be unwittingly inducing bouts with insomnia. Keeping your bedroom cool and dark, reducing stimulation before bed, and setting a consistent bedtime and waking time are all important factors in positive sleep hygiene.
How spa music can help you sleep
Listening to relaxing spa music before bed or combining it with a bedtime meditation can be a simple solution to combating insomnia. Studies show that sleep music improves the quality of sleep. Listening to soothing music as you fall asleep helps you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and experience an overall improved sleep quality. For those that continue to use spa music as part of their bedtime routine, studies also demonstrate that there is a cumulative effect over time which continually enhances sleep.
Interestingly, studies also suggest sleep music as a worthy strategy for nurses to use when hoping to better their patients’ sleep experience. Since there is no training involved in utilizing spa music before bed, it is an easy, free, and low cost way to enhance sleep. Allowing your mind to focus on something soothing can help prevent stressful thoughts from swirling in your mind. Spa music can also block out the stimulation of the outside world.
Spa music is made up of relaxing sounds like soft piano and chimes, and it can often include calming nature sounds as well. Listening to this kind of music can have the same effects as mindfulness meditation. You can even try repeating a mantra or OM sound to yourself as you listen to help you relax. Focusing on taking deep, even breaths can further enhance the experience.
Although meditation is a wonderful tool for your bedtime routine, the ease of simply listening to sleep music can be appealing on days when you just want to go to sleep with as little effort as possible. Rather than setting a focused time and space as you do for meditation, you can simply play the relaxing music as you go through the steps of preparing for bed. This will create a lovely experience for you, and it will improve your sleep with almost no effort on your part.
Author Bio
Charise Rohm Nulsen writes about parenting, education, and living a healthy and natural lifestyle. Charise earned her degree in English and Women’s Studies from Boston College, as well as her graduate degree in English Education from Boston University. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her chasing adventure with her children, reading, hiking, snowboarding, and volunteering.
