Research Publications on Music for Sleep Quality Improvement

Music therapy improves sleep quality in acute and chronic sleep disorders: A meta-analysis of 10 randomized studies; International Journal of Nursing Studies, 2014; Link

The systematic review analyzed the impact of passive music listening on sleep quality in adults, drawing on data from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Including ten randomized controlled trials with 557 participants, the review found that music significantly enhanced sleep quality (standard mean difference: −0.63; 95% CI: −0.92 to −0.34; p < 0.001), despite notable heterogeneity among the studies. Subgroup analysis attributed this heterogeneity to differences in sleep quality assessment methods (objective vs. subjective) and follow-up durations. Importantly, the review discovered that music has a cumulative dose effect on chronic sleep disorders, highlighting that a follow-up period exceeding three weeks is crucial to evaluate music's effectiveness fully. This suggests music as a beneficial intervention for individuals with acute and chronic sleep disturbances, emphasizing its potential for incorporation into therapeutic practices for sleep improvement.