The Effects of Music Intervention on Sleep Quality in Community-Dwelling Elderly

To examine the effects of music intervention on sleep quality in community-dwelling elderly people.

Two-armed randomized controlled trial.

Four urban communities in Xi`an, China.

People aged 60 years or older with poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] score >7).

All participants received one sleep hygiene education session and biweekly telephone calls. Each participant in the intervention group received an MP3 player with a music database. The participants selected the preferred music and listened for 30-45 minutes per night for 3 months.

Sleep quality, the main study outcome, was measured by PSQI at baseline, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months.

Sixty-four elderly people with a mean age of 69.38 ± 5.46 years were randomly assigned to the control group (n = 32) or the intervention group (n = 32). All participants completed the study, and none reported discomfort related to the music intervention. The intervention group demonstrated continuous improvements in sleep quality, with a global PSQI score of 13.53 at baseline, 9.28 at 1 month, 8.28 at 2 months, and 7.28 at 3 months. Although the global PSQI score in the control group also decreased from 12.26 at baseline to 8.72 at 3 months, the intervention group achieved greater improvements at each measurement (all p < 0.05). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant group-by-time interaction effects in global PSQI score and three component scores: sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction (all p < 0.05).

Music is a safe and effective nonpharmacological intervention for improving the sleep quality of community-dwelling elderly people, especially in improving sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and daytime dysfunction.