It is nothing less than a luxury to get quality sleep in today’s fast-paced and hyper-competitive world. When people go to their bed and lie down to sleep, their mind wanders here and there, making it difficult to sleep. Too many thoughts flash through their minds at the same time, raising their stress and anxiety levels. You cannot sleep peacefully amidst thousands of distressing thoughts that come and go. This is exactly where the role of relaxation sounds comes into play. Relaxation sounds for sleep soothe and calm down your mind and drift you into a relaxed state. The more relaxed you are before falling asleep, the more peaceful sleep you get, and thus the fresher you wake up the next morning.
Science of relaxation sounds for sleep
There are various relaxation sounds for sleep that you can listen to, such as the sounds of leaves rustling, rain drops pattering on the ground, and ocean waves rising and subsiding. Such sounds lower the activity levels in your sympathetic nervous system, which keeps the flight or fight mode running in your mind. When this mode is deactivated, the body falls into a relaxed state and mind feels peace. This is mainly because listening to such relaxation sounds for sleep lowers blood pressure levels, slows down the heart rate, and lessens cortisol levels and other stress hormones. Thus, when the mind and the body are relaxed, it becomes much easier to fall asleep.
Apart from this, another major factor that prevents people from falling into deep sleep is the existence of various sounds in the surroundings, such as electric hums, traffic sounds, or conversations. Such sudden disturbances fail to disrupt your sleep when you’re listening to relaxation sounds.
The effects of relaxation sounds on sleep quality
The overall quality of sleep that you get improves when you listen to relaxation sounds before falling asleep. It’s not only that relaxation sounds for sleep make you fall asleep faster, but they also help you sleep better. When such sounds are playing in your ears, it produces alpha brain waves, and the mind feels greater levels of calmness. Thus, it is believed that individuals who listen to relaxation sounds for sleep are able to enter deeper stages of sleep throughout the night.
Individuals who suffer from extreme anxiety levels or insomnia can particularly benefit from relaxation sounds for sleep. This is because such individuals can focus on repetitive and rhythmic sounds that induce them to relax and shift their attention away from anxious thought patterns that they suffer from.
Tips to ensure an effective use of relaxation sounds
At first, you need to build a suitable routine for yourself that you can follow every day. If you listen to relaxation sounds at the same time every night, it signals your brain to prepare for calmness and relaxation at that time every night. Next, you have to decide whether you would listen to relaxation sounds for sleep in your headphones or in speaker. You can choose either of them, provided that whichever option you choose allows you to experience soft and soothing sounds. Then, decide what kind of relaxation sounds you would like to prefer (for example, rustling leaves, ocean waves, or rainfall). Once you have taken all these steps and lain down to sleep, you can try other relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing to enhance the overall sleep quality further. Making and then sticking to this routine will definitely improve the quality of sleep that you get every night.
Sonia Jha