According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, one in three American adults does not get enough sleep regularly. Do you get the recommended seven hours or more a night? Diseases like high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, and heart disease are often linked with lack of sleep. If you need a little help relaxing and getting in the mood to sleep, take a look at these peaceful sounds for sleep.
Relaxing Sounds for Sleeping
Our auditory cortex continues to process sounds while we’re asleep, so listening to peaceful sounds can help sleep come faster and deeper. Whether you awake at the drop of a pin or can sleep through an earthquake, these peaceful sounds are nice to sleep to.
Nature Sounds: Be it waves crashing or rustling in the woods, nature sounds relax the mind and bring sleep quicker. Taking a walk in nature can help with stress, so mimicking this relaxation technique makes sleep easier. Researchers from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in England studied the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans from participants listening to natural sounds. They found that participants’ brains allowed for external focus and an increase in parasympathetic responses (the relaxation response) when listening to these sounds. Try out these natural sounds for sleep.
White Noise: Perhaps you need a little noise to drown out the sounds around, or maybe you just like whirling, relaxing sounds for sleeping. Steady white noise provides a perfect backdrop for sleep. It is unpredictable and not monotonous, but still quiet and active. Your brain has to focus on the sound just enough to help you sleep without worrying about hearing. As a bonus, white noise is great for those who suffer from tinnitus since it masks any ear ringing.
Ambient Sounds: If you are looking for some relaxing sounds for sleeping that aren’t quite natural but a little more than white noise, ambient sounds might be perfect for you. Think about the sounds of a coffee shop, trains, and traffic.
Everything that happens in the background of everyday life can be the soundtrack to satisfying sleep. There are specific videos for ASMR lovers, such as whispers or brushing that can also lead to relaxing sleep. You can listen to the lull without having to concentrate on the specific sounds, making them peaceful sounds to sleep to.
Popular Sleeping Music Apps
If YouTube videos are not as convenient for you as a phone application, we have a few suggestions here as well. Try out Relax Melodies, Noisli, or Sleep Sounds to turn your smartphone into a sound machine perfect for sleep. Each app focuses on particular noises you can tailor to provide peaceful sounds to sleep to.