Getting your toddler to sleep at night can be challenging. Switching off the bedroom lights is one way to make them sleep. Other common ways include reading a storybook together or making them drink a glass of warm milk or singing lullabies. These are some of the tried and tested methods that have been used for generations.
However, with changing times, an increasingly popular way to lull a child to sleep is with music. Yes, you heard that right! A piece of good sleeping music for kids can allow them to immerse themselves in the song, eventually making them fall asleep. Thus, let’s check out how music can help enhance your child’s sleep and its many benefits.
A. Importance of good sleep for children
It has been noted that children who get adequate and undisturbed sleep have improved attention, focus, and concentration. Adequate sleep also improves their memory, learning pattern, behaviour, and overall mental & physical health. On the contrary, children who don’t get enough sleep can fall prey to obesity and have high blood pressure. If your child is not getting enough sleep, consult with a paediatrician at the earliest.
Read: Healthy Sleep Tips For Kids
B. How is music related to better sleep?
Music is an art and a way of life for many, and it is no different for children. Music soothes the soul, and it is a pretty well-known fact that music can help calm an individual. However, you can also use music to induce sleep, especially in children. It is one of the most intriguing ways to improve the quality of sleep.
Since children are energetic, getting good sleep is important as it helps them regain their energy for the next day.
For a long time, parents have been putting their children to bed by singing lullabies or reading folk tales and it has been successful. This shows that soothing sounds are not only helpful for younger children but can also be beneficial for people of all age groups. To put it simply – children or adults – an individual is known to sleep better after listening to music.
When you play soothing sounds or when kids listen to music, it can make them fall asleep faster. The best part, music can help regulate different hormones, such as the hormone cortisol, which can help lower stress and facilitate good sleep.
C. Ways in which music can help your child sleep better
Music is not only therapeutic but is known to have a calming effect on children helping them sleep better. Here is how music ensures that a child sleep’s better while improving his/her overall health.
1. Music ensures good quality sleep
Children who listen to gentle music in the background before going to bed have superior quality sleep compared to children who don’t follow the said pattern. Good sleeping music can calm kids and lull them into undisturbed sleep. Likewise, music can also be beneficial for kids who experience sleeplessness. It can help regulate their sleep cycle, which, in turn, can make them more attentive during the day and lessen fatigue & anxiety.
2. It improves sleep efficiency
In simple terms, sleep efficiency refers to the amount of time that you sleep during the night compared to the overall time you spent in bed. For example, the overall time you spent in bed might be 9 hours, but your actual sleep time could be 5 hours.
If your child is a restless sleeper or awakens frequently throughout the night, it could indicate a lower sleep efficiency. Here, listening to music is known to improve sleep efficiency as over time the consistent therapeutic effects of music can make it easier for your child to drift off to sleep faster. This ensures they have restful sleep, without frequent awakening.
3. It reduces stress
Stress is one of the most dominant factors that cause sleep disorders or sleeplessness. And, music is a great way to deal with stress and calm you down. It is a known fact that music decreases stress levels in humans and induces sleep.
Today’s generation face immense amounts of pressure in their day-to-day life to consistently perform and succeed. Music not only helps calm them down but also gives them the necessary peace while sleeping. Anything that lowers the stress levels during bedtime – be it sleeping on mattresses designed for kids or playing soothing sounds and listening to them before hitting the bed, ensures good sleep.
It provides physiological benefits
The lullabies sung by parents or the soothing sound of music not only help children sleep well but also has a physiological impact on them. Music can help relax muscles, ensuring that the kids are well-rested and energetic for the next day. It can also help regulate their blood pressure and heart rate.
Our bodies react to the beats and rhythm of the music, which helps slow down the heartbeat and ensures deep sleep and gentle breathing. This holds true for toddlers who are exposed to all kinds of sounds during the day. Hence, hearing a parent sing a lullaby or listening to a soulful song in a tranquil voice can help them relax and feel secure which adds to a positive psychological effect and adds to their sound sleep.
5.It helps with cognitive development
Since music has helped improved the bedtime routine of most children, many reputed institutes that work on children’s health strongly suggest that parents introduce their children to good music right from an early age.
Toddlers who listen to music regularly can understand themselves and their feelings better. They can interpret their problems as well as come up with solutions on their own. Music can help them channelise their inner creativity. Moreover, it is also found to have a lasting effect on their childhood memories making them feel special and wanted.
Conclusion
etting good sleep plays an important role in leading a long and healthy life, and instilling that habit in your kids from a young age will help them in the future tremendously. People have been using a variety of methods from singing a lullaby, reading a book or a comic to even searching for soft music for babies to sleep on YouTube.
Thus, do try playing music to induce sleep if your kid can’t fall asleep at night easily. A piece of good sleeping music soothes the body & mind and can help you attain restful sleep, irrespective of whether you are a kid or an adult.