Study examines what kind of music people prefer while falling asleep

BOSTON – A new study examined what type of music people prefer when they're trying to go to sleep.

Parents will often sing a lullaby to a baby to rock them to sleep, but these days a lot of people listen to music to help them nod off. But what type of music is most popular?

Danish researchers analyzed nearly 1,000 sleep playlists on Spotify.

While most of the tracks were soft and slow, they were surprised to find that a large number were energetic pop hits or indie tracks, not typically associated with sleep.

They say if fast-paced songs are structured and predictable without big changes in tempo and intensity, they might in fact help some people doze off.

Boston

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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