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Sign up for CNN sleep, but a better newsletter series. Our 7-part guide offers useful tips for achieving a better sleep.
You’ve heard the rules: There’s no TV before bed.
But many people feel that listening to something, such as audiobooks, music, podcasts, or TV shows, can help them fall asleep.
A 2018 survey found that over half of people with sleep disorders use music as a sleep aid.
Scrolling or looking at the screen to watch the show before going to bed is poorly sleep hygiene, but what if you haven’t seen it?
“It’s like Goldilocks,” said Dr. Rachel Salas, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. “It’s the question of what’s useful for you…it’s not just about your bedtime routine practice, but your environment, everything.”
Everyone is different, and some may fall asleep if they hear something and fall asleep, Saras said. However, there are some practices to maximize benefits and ensure you are avoiding potential pitfalls.
The key to listening to audiobooks, podcasts, music or TV is to fall asleep. Dr. Shaliniparty, a doctor at John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis and an adjunct professor at St. Louis University School of Medicine, says that it’s not that you’re waking up, it’s helping you get rid of.
“When listening to something, this can be harmful to your health if the person actually gets more aggressive or awake and therefore replaces sleep time,” she said in an email. “We recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep on a regular basis for optimal performance.”
Meanwhile, predictable kinds of noise can help you tell your body it’s time to swell.
“If you realize that’s part of your bedtime routine and it’s kind of relaxing with comfort… that’s great,” she said.
Dr. Lindsay Browning, a Berkshire psychologist and sleep expert in the UK, should try selecting content to listen to it.
“Pick something less attractive so that your brain doesn’t motivate you to keep your brain awake and sleep in order to pay attention to it,” she said in an email.
Sleep stories may be a better choice than the audio of the book you want to read. A show that you’ve heard before and know how they end may be better than falling asleep on nail bitters.
A soundtrack for sleep may help you fall asleep, but if it lasts all night, it won’t always keep you asleep, Browning said.
“It’s important to set an automatic timer to mute the sound as soon as you fall asleep as soon as possible,” she said.
If there is an unexpected sound, frequency or volume in the show, podcast, or the music you are playing, you could warn your brain to pay attention, Salas said. Surprising noises don’t always wake you up completely, but it can cause many small awakenings you don’t know. It will interfere with your sleep, she added.
One stable sound, like white noise or ASMR, can help with sleep quality, especially if you live in noisy areas, Saras added.
“(If) the bar will close at certain times and people will go outside and walk to the house to talk and scream. That will disrupt your sleep,” she said.
Consistent, non-injected noise can suppress such types of ambient noise, she said.
Sometimes listening to something to fall asleep is not a great part of your bedtime routine, but a way to think of a quiet race at night. Some positive steps during the day may help, Browning said.
“If you keep waking up, if your brain turns out to be too active when you try to stay asleep, you can try to deal with busy thoughts and worries early in the day.”
Methods include spending dedication to thinking about those worries or using cognitive shuffling. This is a technique that involves thinking random, emotionally charged words to take your heart out of the thoughts of the race, Browning said.
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“Learn how to calm your busy mind at night and learn how to avoid having to hide those unnecessary thoughts with external sounds is a much better idea,” Browning said.
If you’re listening to something to help insomnia and it doesn’t seem to help in 2-4 weeks, then it may be time to meet a board-certified sleep doctor and get to the root of the problem, Paruthi said.
“There are several proven treatments that are suitable for insomnia treatment, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Or, if appropriate, you can consider the medication,” she said.
