sleep music: a spotify playlist to drift off to

We wanted to curate a playlist filled with relaxing sleep music that eve enthusiasts could drift off too. And so, we analysed thousands of songs to find out which ones are the world’s favourite sounds to fall asleep to. And the results were rather intriguing!

Read on to learn more about our findings and discover some new sleep music to add to your bedtime playlist.

relaxing sleep music: our findings

Well, it seems that the calming lyrics of Taylor Swift’s ‘Exile’ - which had over 760m listens FYI - was one of the best tracks for those in need of a good night’s kip.

Another interesting insight is that Noah Cyrus’ gentle acoustic track titled ‘July’ (with 985m+ listens) is the most soothing song overall. 

And when it comes to sleep music, a song named Sunsetz by alternative indie band Cigarettes After Sex, as well as the classic Brahms Lullaby, and natural sounds of rainfall, are all also popular options with more than a billion listens between the three of them. 

how we chose the tracks for our sleep music playlist

We started out by looking at almost 100 sleep specific playlists. And then our sleep boffins were hard at work scouring the thousands of songs on them.

Finally, we worked a dash of data magic and were able to curate the 42 minute long top 10 playlist. These picks are based on listenership numbers for tracks that meet that all-important sleep science criteria such as the right bpm (beats per minute), genre, and lyrics.

According to experts, music triggers the release of dopamine which can up feel good ante (1). And listening to music before bed can also help to reduce the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol (2) which could lead to you being able to fall asleep faster and being able to benefit from a more restorative sleep too.

As you might expect, slower, soothing songs are a better pick before bed. In fact, experts cite that songs that are between 60-80 beats per minute are the best to listen to before bed thanks to their soothing rhythms (3).

how these songs could effectively help you sleep better

The most popular sleep song on the Spotify platform is ‘July’ by the lesser-known of the two Cyrus sisters, Noah. It’s a two and a half minute long acoustic track boasting emotional lyrics and a soothing melody. And both emotional lyrics and soothing melodies are more than welcome at bedtime. In fact, they’ve been proven by science to alleviate stress and promote relaxation (4). 

And while Taylor Swift’s songs usually tend to be a bit more upbeat at about 108 bpm, her 2020 collab with Bon Iver, ‘Exile’ is more inkeeping with that relaxing pulse that our bodies can naturally align with.

Probably less surprising, classical music also features on our sleepy time playlist in the form of the original Sleep song, Brahms Lullaby. Scientists cite that classical tunes can help slow down our pulse and decrease levels of stress hormones. Basically, listening to classical music helps our bodies to mimic a sleepy state with a slower heart rate, slower breathing, and lower blood pressure (5).

Then of course, we have those sounds of nature such as rainfall and jungles. Remember our 20-hour Be More Sloth sleep video? These sounds are not to be dismissed. They are also amongst some of the most popular in Spotify’s Sleep genre. These natural sounds (as opposed to artificial sounds) help the body relax by reducing the presence of adrenaline, signalling to the brain they are non-threatening and allowing you to slowly drift off (6).

our full eve sleep music playlist

sleep music: our conclusion

If you fancy seeing if listening to some music before bed can help you sleep, why not try giving our hand-picked sleep music playlist a listen and find out? Music can help to reduce stress, putting you in a better headspace to fall asleep faster and stay asleep. Whether you’ve been inspired to create your own sleep playlist, or have found the right sleep music right here, we want to wish you all a great night’s sleep.

Until next time, eve sleep.

sources:

1. https://www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_and_how_music_moves_us
2. https://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power-of-music
3. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/noise-and-sleep/music
4. https://northeastpost.co.uk/article/The-Health-Benefits-Of-Listening-To-Music-Before-Bed
5. https://beaire.com/en/aire-magazine/classical-music-and-relaxation
6. https://silvotherapy.co.uk/articles/why-are-nature-sounds-so-relaxing