Effects of music interventions on sleep in older adults: A systematic review.
Darina V Petrovsky, Pranav Ramesh, Miranda Varrasse McPhillips and 1 others
PMID 34090233WHAT IT FOUND
Music before bed did not reliably improve sleep quality in older adults.
Results were mixed: some studies showed better objective sleep or sleep quality, others did not. Relaxing, familiar music may help, but the evidence is not strong enough to promise benefit.
Key findings
01Sleep quality findings were split: three randomized trials found no difference, three found improvement, one quasi-experimental study found no change, and two studies found meditation better than music.
02Three studies reported improved objective sleep outcomes, including shorter wake after sleep onset, increased sleep efficiency, and decreased sleep onset latency.
03Multi-component music interventions had mixed results, and sleep quality did not improve in all studies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review included only English-language studies, so relevant non-English trials may have been missed. The review found only 16 studies, and the samples, music types, and sleep outcomes were too varied for a meta-analysis. Only seven of the 16 studies included older adults with sleep complaints, so the findings may not apply to people without sleep problems. Study quality was moderate, and blinding of outcome assessors and treatment delivery was often unclear or absent. Multi-component interventions combined music with other treatments, so the contribution of music alone cannot be separated. Music details were often incomplete; only two studies provided exact song titles.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article metadata notes NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that music reliably improves sleep in older adults. Sleep quality results were mixed, and multi-component interventions added music therapy or group singing, hand massage, videos, percussion music making, tai chi, mindfulness, art therapy, nature scenes, or texts of Buddha's teaching, so music alone cannot be credited.