The effects of background music on quality of sleep in elementary school children

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of background music on quality of sleep in elementary school children. Convenience sampling was used to recruit a total of 86 fifth graders (43 boys and 43 girls) from an elementary school in a city in Taiwan. Subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental groups (n = 45) and the control group (n = 41). Subjects in the experimental group were given a 45-minute CD of music at naptime everyday and bedtime each night for 3 consecutive weeks. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at pretest and 3 weekly posttests. Repeated measures MANOVA was used to examine group differences across time. Results showed that subjects who received background music at naptime everyday and bedtime each night for 3 consecutive weeks had significant improvement in global sleep quality over time. Improvements were also observed in all 6 components of the PSQI although significant improvements were only observed in sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Some shortcomings of this study include the use of convenience sample, possibility of a Hawthorne effect, lack of objective measurements, and the use of non subject's preferred music.