Music improves older adults' sleep quality

Listening to music before going to be can improve sleep quality among older adults, according to an analysis of all relevant published clinical trials.

In the analysis, which is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, five randomized trials met the investigators' criteria. Older adults who listened to music experienced significantly better sleep quality than those who did not listen to music. Also, older adults who listened to sedative music experienced a greater improvement in sleep quality than those who listened to more rhythmic music. Furthermore, listening to music for longer than four weeks was especially effective at improving sleep quality.

"Music intervention is an effective strategy and is easy to administer by a caregiver or healthcare worker," the authors wrote. "Music therapy might be the first line of therapy to recommend in older adults with sleep disturbances, which would reduce the need for dependence on sedatives and sleeping medication."