Effect Of Classical Music On Sleep In Adolescents

Abstract

This report is based on an experiment that aimed to document and forefront the differences between the quantity and quality of typical sleep and another variable within the chosen sample size. A total of 5 adolescences aged 14 – 17 recorded both their typical sleep, the control data, and sleep after listening to 45 minutes of classical music, the experimental data, for the total duration of a week. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if music consumption shared a direct correlation with improved sleep via the manipulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

Keywords: sleep; classical music; adolescence; arousal; sympathetic nervous system

Sleep, Music and The Sympathetic Nervous System

Sleep is vital for adolescents as it is the key to effective academic learning, success in the workplace and healthy development of the body and mind. The act of listening to music is proven to reduce sympathetic nervous system activity, resulting in decreased anxiety, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate (McCorry, 2007), as well as muscle relaxation and characteristics similar to that of diversional therapy – the distraction from thoughts through participating in another task (Harmat, Takács & Bódizs, 2008). Therefore, a self-proposed, inductive theory was developed to discover if the process of listening to classical music proved to be a verifiable technique in enhancing sleep in adolescents when undertaken for a set duration, prior to initial unconsciousness. The reason behind this being that the sedative influence of the classical genre of music with a bpm of 60, would lower levels of arousal with its calming abilities on the sympathetic nervous system and thus, induce improved sleep.

Two similar studies conducted by de Harmat, L., Takács, J., & Bódizs, R. (2008) and J. Koenig, M.N. Jarczok, M. Warth, L. Harmat, N. Hesse, K.V. Jespersen, J.F. Thayer & T.K. Hillecke. (2013) also explored topics encompassing the correlation between classical music’s influence on sleep, although, the first reported a significant relationship between music and enhanced sleep, whilst the second directly opposed this alternate hypothesis. The purpose of this report is to survey a select sample of participants – specifically adolescent subjects aged fourteen to sixteen years – to correlate this targeted data to the outcome to one of the original studies. Data from the chosen sample of students (n = 5) from varying Australian High Schools were selected.

Methodology

Participants

To investigate the correlation between classical music consumption and the quality and quantity of sleep, specifications for the sample size representing the chosen population were first created. The requirements for eligible participants were Australian High School students aged 14 – 16.

Documentation and Collection of Results

Assessment forms consisting of five trials for each night were provided to all subjects (n = 5) to self-report for both the controlled and experimental data tables, which required imputing the estimated times of one’s sleep wake cycle and can be observed in the Appendix under Data Recording. The average hourly quantity for subjects 1 – 5 were then calculated to formulate a baseline of typical sleep for upcoming comparative analysis in the classical music trials. A questionnaire encompassing yes, or no answers was later developed with the intended purpose of recording sleep quality. Collection was over after all forms had been submitted.

Results

Raw Data

Figure 1. Raw Controlled Data

Figure 2. Raw Experimental Data

Processed Data

Figure 3. Controlled Data Graph

Figure 4. Experimental Data Graph

Discussion

The general trend in the data demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between listening to classical music for an extended period of time and improvements associated with the average quantity and quality of sleep per day. Participants rated sleep on a subjective scale of worst to best from a range of 1 – 10, answers 6 and 7 were the most common for measuring sleep quality. As confirmed by the mean calculations and graphs demonstrating the individual subject quantity of sleep in both experiments, the controlled volume of sleep was slightly lower at 7.625 hours than the experimental at 7.6432 which supported the alternative hypothesis, however, these finding were deemed unreliable due to the t value (-0.18793) showing no significant statistical difference along with the p value (0.855612) showing that the null hypothesis must be accepted. A possible explanation for this could also correlate to the presents of various outliers, none of which present in the non-music results. These extremes can be seen in Subject 1’s 11.5 hours in the fifth trial and Subject 4’s 5 hours in the fourth trial, when the controlled results gauged an average hourly range of 9 – 6.

Overall, the findings of this experiment shared the same conclusion as the study by J. Koenig, M.N. Jarczok, M. Warth, L. Harmat, N. Hesse, K.V. Jespersen, J.F. Thayer & T.K. Hillecke. (2013), because of its inability to effectively prove the alternative hypothesis via a lack of sufficient evidence. Causes for this outcome involve issues with reliability along with a p value below >0.05 (P = 0.855612) which was required to reject the null hypothesis that classical music has no positive effects on the quality and quantity of sleep in adolescents.

Suggestions for improvements to the experiment entail; the controlled hours of sleep being obtained the same as the experimental, by estimating this value the whole experiment could have been jeopardised based on this being an inaccurate and unreliable subjective method. Proper exploration of the effect of music on quality of sleep could be further explored and displayed in the form of raw data because this was under examined. Results being recorded through a larger and more concise sample size to represent the population more accurately – specifically, the inclusion of more male participants could be implemented to make the gender ratio equivalent thus increasing and better representing the Australian high school student sample size. Longer periods for recording the controlled data could be considered, allowing for increased accuracy during comparative analysis of variables. Ensuring each subject has the same controlled environments would effectively combat the presence of discrepancies from external influence in both the controlled and experimental data such as temperature, volume and other general disturbances. This same technique could also be applied to the equipment that was used. For example, whether subjects used different types of headphones or even no headphones at all could compromise sound quality and alter results. Lastly, conditions surrounding the types and duration of activities participants can engage in after listening need to be specified. Some subjects could go directly to sleep whilst others complete other tasks that reverse the effects of the music by altering their levels of awareness and/or arousal. These aspects could all alter the integrity of the experiment, which resulted in the inability to prove the alternative hypothesis.

Possible extensions to this experiment involve replicating the investigation for a more sufficient amount of time to draw exact conclusions, exploration of another age group such as primary school children or the elderly, utilising differing genres of music and/or modifying the duration of music consumption to discover if alterations to average sleep occur.

Summary of Findings

Subsequently, the findings of this experimental investigation could not be considered useful in proving the alternative hypothesis that classical music improves quantity and quality of sleep in adolescents ages 14 – 16 via the reduction of sympathetic nervous system activity. It is recommended that the experiment is preformed again with a few alterations for more accurate data so a concise conclusion can be made. After formulation of the new results, another analysis can be conducted to find the outcome, but for now the null hypothesis is accepted.

Reference List

1. de Niet, G., Tiemens, B., Lendemeijer, B., & Hutschemaekers, G. (2009). Music-assisted relaxation to improve sleep quality: meta-analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(7), 1356–1364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.04982.x
2. Harmat, L., Takács, J., & Bódizs, R. (2008). Music improves sleep quality in students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(3), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04602.x
3. Koenig, J., Jarczok, M. N., Warth, M., Harmat, L., Hesse, N., Jespersen, K. V., Thayer, J. F., & Hillecke, T. K. (2013). Music listening has no positive or negative effects on sleep quality of normal sleepers: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 22(3), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2013.783095
4. McCorry, L. K. (2007). Physiology of the Autonomic Nervous System. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 71(4), 78. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj710478
5. Saarikallio, S., & Erkkilä, J. (2007). The role of music in adolescents’ mood regulation. Psychology of Music, 35(1), 88–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735607068889
6. Shum, A., Taylor, B. J., Thayala, J., & Chan, M. F. (2014). The effects of sedative music on sleep quality of older community-dwelling adults in Singapore. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 22(1), 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2013.11.003