Music As a Sleep Aid: Effects of Types of Music and Prior Musical Experience on Perceived Sleep Quality Open Access
Ree, Anna (Spring 2021)
Abstract
In the current literature regarding sleep quality, there is a large body of research devoted to the use of music as a sleep aid. Music has been shown to have a better efficacy for sleep improvement than other common sound treatments without the serious side effects of sleep medication. However, most sleep and music studies focus mainly on the sleep; there is a gap in the literature regarding which elements of music improve its efficacy as a sleep aid. The current study sought to examine the relationship between one specific element of music, pitch directionality, and the efficacy of music as a sleep aid. It also further examined relationships between musicianship and sleep quality as well as other components of well-being such as stress reduction. An Initial Survey was administered to 52 participants, and of that sample, 31 participants were administered four conditions of sound before sleep (silence, ambient noise, ascending music, and descending music). The primary hypothesis was that melodically descending music would improve sleep over melodically ascending music. The secondary hypothesis was that higher levels of musicianship will result in lower sleep quality with the presence of music. The tertiary hypothesis was that higher reported levels of musical engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic would result in lower reported stress levels during that time. Our results showed that the reported sleep quality scores for each sleep-sound condition were not significantly different from one another and that musicianship did not have a significant predictive effect on sleep quality in any condition. One subcomponent of musical engagement showed a significant predictive effect on reported stress such that as musical engagement increased, stress increased as well. Therefore, the results of the study did not support any of the hypotheses. However, an exploratory analysis showed several significant differences in mean survey scores and sleep sound condition responses between the Psychology department-affiliated students and the Music department-affiliated students. Possible future directions involve examining other technical elements of music in relation to sleep quality as well as reexamining the question of pitch directionality using the objective data lens of a controlled sleep lab environment.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
Background .................................................................................................................................... 1
Current Literature Regarding Sleep Music ......................................................................................... 3
Pitch Directionality ......................................................................................................................... 4
Musicianship .................................................................................................................................. 6
Pandemic Musical Activities ............................................................................................................. 7
Hypotheses and Predictions ............................................................................................................. 9
Materials and Methods ................................................................................................................... 11
Procedures .................................................................................................................................... 11
Design ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Participants ................................................................................................................................... 12
Materials for Initial Survey .............................................................................................................. 14
Materials for Sleep-Sound Experiment ............................................................................................. 18
Results ........................................................................................................................................... 20
Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Pitch Directionality Hypothesis ....................................................................................................... 23
Musicianship Hypothesis ................................................................................................................ 25
Pandemic Musical Activities Hypothesis .......................................................................................... 26
Departmental Analysis of Data ........................................................................................................ 27
Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 29
Implications .................................................................................................................................. 31
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 32
Table and Figures ........................................................................................................................... 34
Table 1: Descriptive statistics for full study dataset ........................................................................... 34
Table 2: Standard deviation and range for full study dataset .............................................................. 34
Table 3: Descriptive statistics for primary and secondary hypotheses ................................................. 34
Table 4: Standard deviation and range for primary and secondary hypotheses ..................................... 34
Table 5: Standard deviation and range for primary and secondary hypotheses (cont) ........................... 34
Table 6: Descriptive statistics for tertiary hypothesis ......................................................................... 35
Table 7: Standard deviation and range for tertiary hypothesis ............................................................ 35
Table 8: Standard deviation and range for tertiary hypothesis (cont) .................................................. 35
Figure 1: Comparison of average GSQQ scores across the four conditions of sound before
sleep (silence, ambient noise, ascending music, and descending music) .............................................. 36
Figure 2: Comparison of average GSQQ scores across the four conditions of sound before
sleep between Music department students and Psychology department students ................................ 37
Figure 3: Impact of level of musicianship on subjectively reported sleep quality for the
condition of silence ........................................................................................................................ 38
Figure 4: Impact of level of musicianship on subjectively reported sleep quality for the
condition of ambient noise ............................................................................................................. 39
Figure 5: Impact of level of musicianship on subjectively reported sleep quality for the
condition of ascending music .......................................................................................................... 40
Figure 6: Impact of level of musicianship on subjectively reported sleep quality for the
condition of descending music ........................................................................................................ 41
Figure 7: Comparison of average Gold-MSI scores between Music department students and
Psychology department students..................................................................................................... 42
Figure 8: Impact of level of pandemic musical activities on subjectively reported stress
related to the COVID-19 pandemic .................................................................................................. 43
Figure 9: Impact of level of current musical engagement on subjectively reported stress
related to the COVID-19 pandemic .................................................................................................. 44
Figure 10: Impact of level of pandemic musical perceptions on subjectively reported stress
related to the COVID-19 pandemic .................................................................................................. 45
Figure 11: Comparison of average CSM, PMAS, PMPS, and rGMSI scores between Music
department students and Psychology department students................................................................ 46
References ...................................................................................................................................... 47
Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 54
Appendix A: Demographic Information ............................................................................................ 54
Appendix B: Sleep Quality Scale ...................................................................................................... 55
Appendix C: Athens Insomnia Scale ................................................................................................. 57
Appendix D: Goldsmith Musical Sophistication Index ....................................................................... 58
Appendix E: Short Test of Musical Preference ................................................................................... 61
Appendix F: Reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire ......................................................... 62
Appendix G: Munich Chronotype Questionnaire ................................................................................ 64
Appendix H: Pandemic Musical Activities ......................................................................................... 66
Appendix I: COVID-19 Stress Measure .............................................................................................. 67
Appendix J: Lighting Condition Questions ........................................................................................ 68
Appendix K: Continued Participation Briefing and Question .............................................................. 69
Appendix L: Groningen Sleep Scale .................................................................................................. 70
Appendix M: National Sleep Foundation Sleep Log ............................................................................ 71
Appendix N: Participant Instructions for Volume Data ....................................................................... 72
Appendix O: Consent and Study Information Form for Initial Survey ................................................... 73
Appendix P: Consent and Study Information Form for Sleep Sound Conditions .................................... 75
About this Honors Thesis
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Primary PDF
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Music As a Sleep Aid: Effects of Types of Music and Prior Musical Experience on Perceived Sleep Quality () | 2021-04-13 15:23:02 -0400 |
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Supplemental Files
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Ascending Music Sample (Score) (Score for a sample of ascending sleep music composed by Anna Ree and Aliyah Auerbach.) | 2021-04-13 15:23:08 -0400 |
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Descending Music Sample (Score) (Score for a sample of descending sleep music composed by Anna Ree and Aliyah Auerbach.) | 2021-04-13 15:23:16 -0400 |
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Ascending Music Sample (Audio) (Audio for a sample of ascending sleep music composed by Anna Ree and Aliyah Auerbach.) | 2021-04-13 15:23:29 -0400 |
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Descending Music Sample (Audio) (Audio for a sample of descending sleep music composed by Anna Ree and Aliyah Auerbach.) | 2021-04-13 15:23:40 -0400 |
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Ambient Noise Sample (Audio for a sample of ambient noise for sleep.) | 2021-04-13 15:23:51 -0400 |
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