iPhone Tips And Tricks: How To Set Music Timer, View Siri Song History

Aside from simply connecting with friends, the iPhone has more features that can help you out throughout the day. Tricks like setting music timers and even checking your song history with Siri is also possible. Here are some nifty iPhone tips and tricks to help you out.

Music Timer

If you're planning to listen to music as you sleep or just want it to go away automatically after some time, the Music Time feature is your friend. To set this, go to the Clock app and tap on Timer. At the bottom part of the Timer's settings, you can find the Stop Music option. Turn that on and the music or playlist will automatically stop once the timer runs out.

Siri Song History

While in iTunes, Siri can be asked about the songs you've previously asked the Apple assistant to find. To do this, just press the three line icon near the top of the display and pick Siri. This feature is really helpful if you've got a song that's always at the tip of your tongue but really don't know how to ask Siri to find it again.

Reopen Closed Tab

Ever accidentally closed a Safari tab as you were browsing? If you want to get that lost tab back, the "+" button at the bottom of the screen can help you get back that tab as it'll pop up a list that'll show you the recently closed tabs. Just pick the ones you need and get back to browsing.

Quick Settings Access

If you want to see your phone's settings stat, just say "Settings" to Siri and it'll pop up. This feature will work when you're in other apps like checking your photos or messages.

Multiple App Moving

If you want to manage your apps in folders en masse, you can do this through holding one icon with your finger and tapping others while moving it. The other icons will now follow the one you're holding and you can move them together to any folder or part of the screen you like.

Aside from Siri, an iPhone has all sorts of fun functions for users to try out. Pictured: A woman tries to use 'Siri' voice-activated assistant software built into the Apple iPhone 4S March 13, 2012 in Washington, DC. An iPhone 4S buyer has sued Apple for promising more than it delivered. A suit filed in a California federal court argued that Apple advertising touting the wonders of Siri amounted to 'intentional misrepresentation' and unfair competition, according to documents available online Tuesday. Lawyers representing a New York City man who bought an iPhone 4S want class action status to represent millions of people who bought the latest generation Apple smartphone. The suit included Apple -- which runs showing people asking Siri to help them find restaurants, learn chords to songs, tie neck ties, and even figure out if there is a rodeo in town -- had disappointed some users. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/Karen Bleier

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Garmin’s new Vivoactive 3 Music is the best competitor to the Apple Watch

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The new Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music. Valentina Palladino

Optical heart-rate monitor and charging nodes on the underside. Valentina Palladino

Single side button for quick-start workouts and device settings. Valentina Palladino

The Chroma display is still one of the best to use in direct sunlight (please excuse my sunburnt wrist). Valentina Palladino

The new black, circular bezel blends in more seamlessly with the case than the metal bezel on the original Vivoactive 3. Valentina Palladino

The new model has storage space for 500 songs. Valentina Palladino

You can shuffle all titles, play specific playlists, or choose individual tracks to listen to. Valentina Palladino

Heart-rate graphs show all-day pulse data. Valentina Palladino

Device settings and battery level indicator. Valentina Palladino

Garmin's Vivoactive 3 held one of the top spots in my list of last year's best wearables. With its sleek design, comprehensive fitness capabilities, GPS navigation, and NFC payments, the 3 more than held its own against the Apple Watch Series 3 and the Fitbit Ionic.

Today, Garmin announced a new version of the Vivoactive 3 with a feature that brings the device up to par with the newest versions of its competition: music storage.

The new $299 Vivoactive 3 Music is a smartwatch with all of the features included on the original Vivoactive 3 plus space for about 500 songs. It also has Garmin's new advanced sleep-monitoring technology, which uses heart-rate variability (among other pieces of data) to more accurately determine sleep stages throughout the night. I wore the Vivoactive 3 Music for a few days ahead of its debut to get a feel for how much of an impact these small, yet important, updates have on an already stellar device.

Garmin didn't mess with the Vivoactive 3's design too much, but immediately noticeable on the new device is the glass-like bezel surrounding the touchscreen. The original Vivoactive 3 had a metal circle and side-swipe features on the left side of its case—both of those are gone now, replaced by a seamless black case that appears to bleed off its circumference. The device is incredibly light, and its traditional watch design helps it blend into nearly any outfit. I appreciated the original Vivoactive 3's design because it was leaps and bounds better than the chunky Vivoactive HR. The small changes that make the Vivoactive 3 Music unique also represent another step forward in Garmin's hardware-design journey.

Further Reading Vivoactive 3 review: Garmin's often the underdog, often the better choice Music storage

Garmin introduced music storage on the $449 Forerunner 645 Music earlier this year, and that feature begins to trickle down into other devices with the Vivoactive 3 Music. Considering the original 3 had Garmin Pay capabilities, the only other advanced feature it was missing was music storage.

The Vivoactive 3 Music can hold about 500 songs (supporting .mp3 and .aac file types) downloaded from your PC using Garmin Express or from supported streaming services. Currently, the device supports iHeartRadio and Deezer, so Spotify, Pandora, and other subscribers are still out of luck.

Garmin vivoactive 3 Music Price: $299.99 at Garmin Ars Technica may earn a commission on this sale. Buy

However, the music experience is nearly identical to that of the Forerunner 645 Music, which is to say that it's quite solid. Connecting the device to your PC and opening Garmin Express allows you to do a number of things: download music, install software updates, manage Connect IQ apps, and change device and profile settings. The Music program automatically identifies the default music program on your PC (in my case, that's iTunes) and mirrors the folders you have in that program such as playlists, albums, songs, and more. Choose playlists, albums, an entire artist's archive, or individual songs to import onto the watch, and within minutes, the songs transfer to the device and are ready for playback.

After using the Apple Watch, the Fitbit Ionic and Versa, various Wear OS devices, and the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music, I know that the uncomfortable part of the music experience typically comes when downloading music to a device. The tools a company uses to get available music onto a wearable are less than ideal, but Garmin's is one of the least offensive and most democratic. Users are limited only to iTunes and Apple Music when using an Apple Watch, and Fitbit's music tool in Fitbit Connect is clunky and slow to transfer music to a connected wearable. Garmin made downloading as easy as checking and unchecking boxes to add music to a device, and individual tracks transfer in just a few seconds.

In my experience, playback quality depends on the quality of your headphones. In the short time I've had with the Vivoactive 3 Music, the smartwatch never caused any glitches or breaks in music playback, and my connected wireless headphones produced rich sound. From the on-screen music player, you can shuffle songs, skip tracks, and scroll through playlist and album track lists to select the song you want to listen to.

Further Reading Apple Watch Series 3 review: LTE comes with high monetary and mental costs Advanced sleep monitoring

In addition to music storage, the Vivoactive 3 Music will have Garmin's new, advanced sleep-monitoring technology. Most Garmin wearables track sleep, but the company improved on its methods by incorporating metrics like heart-rate variability to better estimate time in light, deep, and REM sleep. Currently, sleep graphs and charts in Garmin Connect already account for sleep stages and awake time, but the new feature should make this information more accurate than it was before.

Advanced sleep monitoring wasn't ready in time for me to test it out, but Garmin says it's coming soon. On paper, the updated feature takes a direct shot at Fitbit, which has focused more on accurate sleep tracking and analysis over the past year or so. I'm interested to see how much more in-depth Garmin's sleep graphs will be once it includes data captured with the new technology and if Garmin Connect will use the new data to push out more personalized sleep recommendations or advice. I did sleep with the Vivoactive 3 Music on every night that I was testing it, and its lightweight design and stretchy band made it a comfortable sleep companion. However, some may prefer thin-and-light bands to track sleep, like the Fitbit Alta HR or the Garmin Vivosmart 3.

Listing image by Valentina Palladino

Carry-over features

Aside from ditching side-swipe, Garmin didn't remove any features from the Vivoactive 3 when making the new Music version. It has the same Chroma display that's always-on and great to read even in direct sunlight. Garmin has a plethora of workout profiles that you can track, including run, treadmill, strength training, bike, swim, row, ski, yoga, and more, and you can choose your favorites to keep on the watch at all times.

Specs at a glance: Vivoactive 3 Music vs. the competition Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music Garmin Forerunner 645 Music Apple Watch Series 3 Fitbit Ionic Samsung Gear Sport Price $299 $449 $329 $299 $249 OS compatibility Android, iOS Android, iOS iOS Android, iOS Android, iOS Display 1.2-inch, 240 × 240 Chroma color touchscreen 1.2-inch, 240 × 240 Chroma color display 1.65-inch, 390 × 312 OLED touchscreen (42mm model) 1.4-inch, 348 × 250 touchscreen 1.2-inch, 360 x 360, Super AMOLED touchscreen Bands 20mm, interchangeable 20mm, interchangeable Proprietary, interchangeable Proprietary, interchangeable 20mm, interchangeable Heart-rate monitor/GPS Yes/yes Yes/yes Yes/yes Yes/yes Yes/yes Water resistance Up to 50 meters Up to 50 meters Up to 50 meters Up to 50 meters Up to 50 meters Battery life Seven days (smartwatch mode), five hours (GPS and music) Seven days (smartwatch mode), five hours (GPS and music) Up to two days Five days (smartwatch mode), 10 hours (GPS mode) Up to three days Music storage Yes, up to 500 songs Yes, up to 500 songs Yes, up to 16GB (LTE models) Yes, up to 300 songs Yes, 4GB internal storage Music sources iHeartRadio (All Access subscribers), Deezer users, personal files iHeartRadio (All Access subscribers), Deezer users, personal files Apple Music (paid subscribers), paid iTunes tracks Pandora (paid subscribers), Deezer users, personal files Spotify (Premium subscribers), personal files NFC payments Yes, Garmin Pay Yes, Garmin Pay Yes, Apple Pay Yes, Fitbit Pay Yes, Samsung Pay Extra features New advanced sleep tracking, compatible with ANT+ devices Training load, training effect, anaerobic training effect, compatible with ANT+ devices W2 chip, GymKit, optional LTE Fitbit Coach (limited free workouts, others paid), Fitbit Studio (easier app/watch face development) Rotating bezel, Spotify Gear app for saving offline playlists Further Reading Fitbit Ionic review: Meet the $300 fitness-focused smartwatch

Making your own workout profile is also easy on the device or within the Garmin Connect mobile app, which should also get recognition for its improvement over the past year or so. The heart rate monitor and onboard GPS are both accurate, the device receives all smartphone alerts to keep you in the know, and Garmin Pay lets you pay for coffee on the way home from a run without your wallet.

The kicker, though, is its battery life: seven days in smartwatch mode, or five hours with GPS and music use. Music lowered the former battery-life estimation (the Vivoactive 3 could last 13 hours in GPS mode), but that was expected considering the amount of power needed to play music through a bluetooth device and track exercise using GPS at the same time. After wearing the device in smartwatch mode day and night for six days, the battery was down to about 30 percent.

Rep counting helped the Vivoactive 3 stand out among its Apple and Fitbit competitors, and it does the same for the Vivoactive 3 Music. Each time I use a Garmin device with rep counting, I find the experience slightly better than the last. It doesn't always capture every rep in a strength-training session (it often doesn't think you completed any during leg exercises), but it accurately captures most reps completed when your arms are moving. Garmin's automatic exercise recognition feature in strength-training workouts also continues to get better—the Vivoactive 3 Music accurately identified half of my arm-circuit exercises in each strength-training session I completed. For the sets it doesn't understand, Garmin Connect makes it easy for you to identify the exercise completed, number of reps, and the amount of weight lifted.

While Garmin devices work with Android and iOS, keep in mind that Android users get a few extra perks thanks to the openness of the platform. Android users can send quick-replies to text messages directly from the watch, while iOS users are limited to reading and dismissing message alerts. Android users can also use smart notifications to pick and choose apps to receive alerts from on the watch—for iOS users, it's all alerts, calls only, or calls and texts only.

The cherry atop the cake

Much like its predecessor, the Vivoactive 3 Music is a well-rounded, extremely capable fitness watch. It's a more advanced fitness device than the Apple Watch and the Fitbit Ionic, giving users the power to go as deep as they want into their own fitness training. Those just getting started can easily track daily walks and nothing more, while hardcore athletes can customize training plans, track many different types of workouts, and now bring music along with them for the ride as well. Garmin's device also outshines the competition with its seven-day battery life, rep-counting abilities, and workout customization tools, and the company should be given credit for making massive improvements to the Garmin Connect mobile app over the past year.

But the Apple Watch and Fitbit's devices deserve credit for the areas in which they excel. The Apple Watch makes a better smartwatch if you have an iPhone, allowing you to respond to messages and even make and receive calls if you have the LTE version of the Series 3 Watch. It's inherently a better communications device, with the tradeoff being the restriction to Apple's ecosystem. Fitbit's devices have a friendlier mobile app than Garmin's, and Fitbit's social features make exercise a communal activity. Garmin has social features as well, and some athletes may even prefer them, but Fitbit's challenges, activity status and photo sharing, groups and other social features will appeal to a wider variety of users with different fitness levels.

The Vivoactive 3's lack of music storage made it a no-go for many users, particularly those who want to listen to music but also be free of their smartphones while they exercise. Now with music storage, the Vivoactive 3 Music is truly the best competitor to the Apple Watch and the Fitbit Ionic that Garmin has ever made—and it's made even better by its $299 price tag. If you're not married to Apple's ecosystem and aren't enamored by Fitbit's friendly hardware and software aesthetic, the Vivoactive 3 Music is the smartwatch to get.

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Why music is used as a potential sleep aid?

London, Nov 15 (IANS) Besides its potential to help reduce anxiety as well as the negative effects of physical pain, a new study suggests that music might serve as a cheap, non-pharmaceutical sleep aid for people facing difficulty in getting proper sleep.

Sleep loss is a widespread problem and poses serious physical and economic consequences. However, there is a lack of systematic data on how widely it is used, why people opt for music as a sleep aid, or what music works.

The study found that music both stimulates sleep and blocks an internal or external stimulus that would otherwise disrupt sleep.

"The study offers new understanding into the complex motivations that drive p eople to reach for music as a sleep aid and the reasons why so many find it effective," said researchers including Tabitha Trahan from the University of Sheffield in the UK.

Further, to understand why people opt for music as a sleep aid, or what music works, the team investigated music as a sleep aid within the general public via an online survey that scored musicality, sleep habits, and open-text responses on what music helps sleep and why.

They examined 651 adults, who provided new evidence into the relationship between music and sleep in a population that ranged widely in age, musicality, sleep habits and stress levels.

The results, published in the journal PLOS ONE, showed that 62 per cent use music to help them sleep.

Even those who do not suffer from sleep disorders use music in their everyday lives to help improve the quality of their sleep experiences.

Studies have shown that music has many promising neurological and physiological effects that may be indicative of its effective use in the fight against sleep loss.

The subjective psychological benefits of music have also been linked to chemical changes observed via hormone levels as music increased oxytocin and accordingly levels of relaxati on as well as decrease negative thoughts, the study noted.

--IANS

pb/rt/mag/sed

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Opinion: It's Time to Put "Woke" to Sleep

The argument I am making is not new, or revolutionary, or profound. Instead, it's a cleanup. The last street sweeping at the end of a long parade, that final reminder that the party is really over.

In order to make this argument, it's important to define the word as accurately as possible, because the muddling of the definition of woke is really what killed it.

According to Merriam-Webster, woke means, "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)."

Its resurgence in this decade can be most closely linked to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. BLM activists have been striving, for years now, to convince people of all races to value and respect blackness, to take issues like the deaths of black people at the hands of police seriously. Woke became shorthand for a mindset and a worldview that values black lives.

But the word goes further back than that. It's most famously traced to an essay published in the New York Times in 1962 called "If You're Woke You Dig It," by William Melvin Kelley, though some have traced its use as far back as the 1940s.

One of the arguments Kelley presented in the piece was that once black words, like "cats" or "dig it," used to define certain aspects of blackness, became adopted by a white mainstream, they were officially done.

His words ring true in 2018 as well. No matter how well-intentioned, when Jill Stein and the cast of Will & Grace are name-checking the term, ironically or not, it's no longer anything new.

Nicole Holliday, a linguist at Pomona College who researches sociolinguistics and racial and ethnic boundaries in language, argues that the Internet may have sped up the life cycle of a word like woke, sending it from new to played-out in record time.

"So many more people are being exposed to so much more language by people that they wouldn't normally interact with," Holliday says. "The people you follow on Twitter aren't necessarily people that you talk to in real life."

"Some group of young peopleâ€"usually young people of colorâ€"start popularizing a word," Holliday says. "They interact with other young people and people a little older than them."

And then, Holliday says, people in their 20s grab hold of it, as do white liberals, and so on and so forth. Their parents hear it, and before you know it, a buzzword ends up in a corporate board meeting. By then, Holliday argues, that word is done.

Of course, this way in which words cycle through the culture is nothing new. Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster sees parallels with the phrase "politically correct," which is defined as "conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated," but at this point usually means something pretty different.

"At its most sincere," Brewster says, "[the phrase politically correct] is a kind of caretaking of the people around you. You are going to think about how the words impact an audience that is maybe, maybe not the audience that you first imagined when you are saying something or creating something."

But now, argues Brewster, it's become a cudgel, a mockery. Words that begin with a very specific meaning, used by a very specific group of people, over time become shorthand for our politics, and eventually move from shorthand to linguistic weapon. Or in the case of woke, a linguistic eye-roll.

But yet, here we are, still using the word.

Perhaps the most convincing reason to stop doing so may lie in a misconception that's traveled with woke even before its Black Lives Matter resurgence. In 2008, Erykah Badu released the song "Master Teacher," which began to reintroduce the word woke to the culture before BLM did more of the heavy lifting.

In that song, Badu and others repeat the refrain, "I stay woke," over and over again. But, in a recent interview with OKPlayer, songwriter Georgia Anne Muldrow told Elijah Watson, news and culture editor for the site, that we all heard it wrong.

"She was saying 'I'd,' like I would stay woke," Watson says, "but it sounds like it's a declarative 'I stay woke.' "

A word meant to imply a constant state of striving, course-correcting and growth has been heard now, for almost a decade, as a static and performative state of being.

"[The word woke] was something that we were taking seriously and then it kind of transformed into something ironic and then it became a meme and then it became a trademark," Watson says.

After writing a definitive history of the word for OKPlayer, Watson says he no longer uses the word woke. He compares the co-opting of woke to the way music steeped in black tradition moves through mainstream culture.

"We made jazz, we made rap, we made all these different things," Watson said. "It's sad to say but we're used to being taken advantage of and to have things stolen from us. But at the same time we're quick to evolve and adapt because we need to in order to survive."

Here's to evolution and adaptation. Let's promise to leave a word that's past its prime in 2018. It's time to put woke to sleep.

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How to Achieve Restorative Sleep

Jeff Nichols is a Navy SEAL veteran and exercise physiologist and I recently consulted with him on the topic of sleep and recovery and how to achieve a "restorative sleep."

As Jeff puts it, the goal is quality hours of sleep that place the body into a rapid eye movement (REM) pattern as many times as possible. This process introduces the hormone response that enables the body to recover from a stressful day and the physical stress of job and training that many tactical athletes endure.

Though there is a list of sleep assistance items and habits to follow, do not try to do all of them at once. The goal is to see what works for you, so keep it simple. Select one or two at a time and implement them for a week or so. Then try to add another. Eventually, you will find the perfect formula that works for you. This process will also allow you to evaluate the new changes to your life effectively.

Treat sleep as the most important part of your day -- really! You will sleep 30 percent of your life. You should be good at it because, if you are not, you could be subtracting years from your life due to your inability to metabolize stress properly. It is helpful to prepare for sleep as if you were preparing for any other part of your day. Consider the following rituals:

Four to Six Hours Prior to Sleep

Lay off caffeine several hours prior to sleep. In fact, you should make this the first step to sleeping better. For some people, having caffeine up to 6 hours before bed can affect sleep by over an hour.

Start cooling the room temperature a few hours prior to sleep. Try a setting between 65-69 degrees Fahrenheit. This will allow your body temperature to drop (approximately 0.7 degree Celsius), which is necessary for essential hormone release -- such as testosterone, HGHr, dopamine and serotonin, to name a few. This hormone dump is directly correlated to entering REM and is a clear sign of quality restorative sleep.

Food before bed. The goal is slow-digesting protein (casein) sources low in sugar. Foods like the following are good snacks before bedtime:

Plain whole milk Greek yogurt (vanilla-flavored casein protein powder will add taste to plain yogurt plus extra slow digesting protein)

Quinoa

Cottage Cheese

Nakee butter peanut butter - https://nakeebutter.com. This product has MCT oil in it, which is ideal for brain function and brain health. There's nothing artificial in this product, and it comes ready to travel in single-serving packets.

Find a snack that works for you and your digestive system. The amino acids in these protein-rich foods are also helpful with metabolizing stress.

Some Extra Items to Consider Getting and Doing

Bedding. Consider new sheets and pillowcases. Polyester, silk, satin, or any other sheer type bedding is not recommended. Bamboo is a good choice. Here is a brand worth checking out: https://www.cariloha.com. Hemp sheets are a good second option, and pure cotton is fine too.  Bamboo is actually softer than cotton; because of the weave, it is more breathable and will not trap extra heat under the sheets with you.

Air Filter. Get a high-quality air filter for your bedroom, especially if you have pets. Air quality is essential for quality of sleep even though it's often overlooked. Most any air filter will do. It does not have to be super expensive, just one that focuses on pets and dust stirred up from normal living. Consider this one.

Blue light-blocking glasses. If you spend time in front of the screen prior to bed or in the evening in general (on your phone, computer or tablet), these glasses are mandatory. Just wear them around your house an hour before bed and do what you normally do. This will begin to down regulate your brain and help you quiet your mind and prepare for sleep.

Supplements. People often take melatonin as a supplement, though it's best to help your body make it naturally. The most effective and simple way is to place yourself in direct sunlight for 10-15 minutes before 9:30 am. This sets the circadian rhythm essential for natural melatonin release each evening. This is very useful when you travel time zones. It  will also align your appetite. The goal is to sleep naturally and not rely on supplements or sleep aids. However, Gaba-250 (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a natural, safe, non-habit forming neurotransmitter. Too much excitation can lead to irritability, restlessness, sleeplessness and spasmodic movements. This excitation needs to be balanced with inhibition. GABA is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.

Sleepwear. The act of getting into pajamas is a trigger for the brain to start preparing for sleep. Do this an hour prior to sleeping. Bedtime clothing recommendations are the same as for sheets -- bamboo, hemp or cotton. A cotton-poly blend isn't bad either, especially since many of them are very soft and comfortable.

The ChiliPad. Mattress temp is equally important as air temperature in the room. Consider getting a mattress cover that cools. Try the ChiliPad at 69 degrees. Keep in mind that as morning approaches, you may need to turn it up to 71 degrees. This is because, as you go into REM sleep, your body temp will drop and you may get a chill. This is normal.   

Binaural Music. Specifically, "delta wave binaural tones" is the soothing music of choice. Simply put, it involves sound tones that places the brain in a state to receive sleep. Your brain will produce an electrical wave in a Delta pattern when in REM sleep.

Showering before bedtime. The combination of heat radiation and the mammalian response, or diving reflex, will help ready you for sleep. Take a warm shower and make sure you stand under the shower head for a minute or two as it pours over your face and head -- breathe and relax. Keep the bathroom dim during the shower. Do not brighten the bathroom or bedroom after the shower. Once you have dried off, get into bed and do not cover your feet or hands. The heat leaving your body will simulate a body temperature drop similar to entering REM. As you feel yourself getting sleepy, cover up and get comfortable.

Your bedtime habits can elicit a response that helps you relax, but you have to start associating relaxing events or times in your life with that time right before sleep. For instance, before sleep, smell something that reminds you of something nice, like a baby's hug or your bedroom as a kid -- something relaxing to you. A picture of your child or puppy sleeping will also work. But smell is very powerful to help with this response.

For more information about Jeff Nichols' programming, check out www.performancefirstus.com.

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What Gets You To Sleep? Study Reveals Some Turn To Metal Music

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — What helps you get to sleep? A new study says many people use music as an everyday sleep aid.

Sixty-two percent of people surveyed said they listen to music to help them fall asleep. Many say it helps them relax or blocks noise. And you might be surprised to learn it's not just classical music that helps with the Zs.

The people surveyed cited more than 500 artists from 14 different genres they're listening to as they go to sleep.

Among the favorite artists: Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and then there were some classic choices, like Mozart.

Around three percent of those surveyed preferred to be lulled to sleep by metal.

But if music isn't your bedtime thing maybe you are one of those few who prefers to sleep to the sound of something else: the sound of silence.

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Music: a popular sleep aid

Insufficient sleep is a widespread problem with social, economic, and health impacts. Sleep difficulties have been associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and lower overall well-being. Despite the significant impacts of sleep quality on health, sleep is often disregarded as a public health concern.

One-third of Canadians receive less than seven hours of sleep per night

Many factors contribute to poor quality sleep, including caffeine consumption, work demands, social commitments, stress, and family life. About one-third of Canadians receive less than seven hours of sleep per night, the minimum amount recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. Adults between 18 and 64 years old should receive between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, and those over 65 should sleep seven to nine hours each night. Many Canadians also have compromised sleep quality. About 43% of men and 55% of women report having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep sometimes, most of the time, or all of the time.

Pharmaceutical sleep aids can have harmful side effects

There are a number of sleep disorders that can have an impact on quality of life. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder and often involves difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

Treatment options for sleep problems and disorders include both lifestyle changes and medication. However, pharmaceutical sleep aids can have a number of harmful side effects. A recent UK study showed that music might be an effective alternative to pharmaceuticals to help with sleep.

The authors of the study looked at the effects of music as a sleep aid by polling 651 people over the age of 18 with an online survey. The survey evaluated subjects on musicality (musical sensitivity, knowledge, or talent), sleep habits, and open text responses on what types of music might help with sleep and why.

Music is a popular sleep aid

The results, published PLOS One, showed that 62% of respondents reported using music to help with sleep. Participants described 14 unique musical genres and 545 different artists. Classical music was the most commonly used genre of music to help with sleep, reported by about 32% of participants. The types of music used for sleep varied and were not restricted to only relaxing and peaceful music genres.

Even those without a diagnosed sleep disorder used music to improve sleep quality, and about 36% of participants used music for sleep at least once per week. In addition, younger people with a higher musical engagement—a measure involving attention, emotion, and response to music—were more likely to use music as a sleep aid.

Respondents reported a number of reasons for using sleeping music, including relaxation, focus, or to change the mood. The study also identified other motivators for using music such as improved bedtime routine, masking of external noises, and distraction from negative thoughts. Previous studies have shown that music can benefit anxiety, which may result from chemical and biological changes in the body, though further research is needed.

Although the current study demonstrates that music is a popular sleep aid, the results have a few limitations. First, the study participants were recruited through web-based platforms, which favour younger individuals and those with access to the internet. Second, the results are based on how participants felt that music improved sleep, and do not account for any objective sleep measures such as changes to body physiology. Lastly, respondents were self-selected for the study, meaning that participants themselves chose whether or not to partake in the study. As a result, the views of music users might be overrepresented in the study outcomes.

More research needed to understand how music can treat sleep difficulties

Despite these limitations, the study shows how various types of music might benefit a range of sleep-related problems. It also reveals the diverse reasons behind using music to help sleep. Music therapy is a low-cost and side-effect free option to treat insufficient sleep. Further research is needed to better understand any biological changes caused by music, and how music can be used to treat sleep difficulties and disorders.

Written by Braydon Black, BSc

References:

Trahan T, Durrant SJ, Müllensiefen D, Williamson VJ. The music that helps people sleep and the reasons they believe it works: A mixed methods analysis of online survey reports. PLoS One [Internet]. 2018 Nov [cited 2018 Dec 22];13(11):e0206531. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0206531 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206531

Chaput JP, Wong SL, Michaud I. Duration and quality of sleep among Canadians aged 18 to 79 [Internet]. Ottawa: Statistics Canada; 2017 Sep 20 [cited 2018 Dec 22]. p. 28-33 Cat. No.: 82-003-X. Available from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2017009/article/54857-eng.htm

HealthLink BC. Insomnia [Internet]. Burnaby (British Columbia): Government of British Columbia. [updated 2017 Oct 10; cited 2018 Dec 22]. Available from: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/uh1001

Merriam-Webster dictionary [Internet]. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster Incorporated; 2018. Musicality; [updated 2018 Nov 24; cited 2018 Dec 22]. Available from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/musicality

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