Source
r/AskParents•
cfm76

Can playing lullabies during the night cause my son to be more tired during the day (cross post from /r/autism)

My son, who is four and on the spectrum, has been having trouble sleeping during the night. This has had an effect on the amount of sleep that my wife and I have been getting. In other words, we are sleep deprived. I have found that playing lullabies during the entire night helps him have a better night sleep, but my wife believes that it is harmful to him. I have done some searching on the internet but can not seem to find any definitive information regarding the effects of playing lullabies (classical music) during the whole night for children. Does anyone know of a source of information that would help us make a decision on the matter?

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I really appreciate this community, you all have provided me a great deal of hope and support.

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Edit: side note, I play them on a loop, but the songs are quite long... and here is the list of songs I've been playing for him:

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I do not let him watch the video, he just listens to the music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi12K9uAd98 - Hush little baby ( the one I play most often )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJpEAPk_-xI&t=3236s - Twinkle twinkle little star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhGm5LrBDs- Brahms' Lullaby

Posted Dec 20, 2018, 11:36 PM UTC

03
jaytys•

I don’t have kids and this isn’t entirely related buuuut, my college roommate and I shared an apartment with an in unit washer and dryer. I always went to bed first and she liked to do laundry at night. I always had a hard time sleeping when the dryer was running but she liked the noise. It took a few months to figure out why.

She was raised in a big city and her mom would turn on the dryer (that was next to her bedroom) to drown out the city noise. Whereas I grew up on the outskirts of town where it was dead quiet. I could never sleep with the extra noise.

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DuePomegranate•

I play music by Raimond Lap all night long for all my children using small USB music players that take microSD cards. The music is instrumental with some other relaxing sounds like ocean waves mixed in. Only one song has lyrics (not my favourite). He has several albums specifically designed for babies/kids to fall asleep to.

Here are some sites talking about the benefits and risks of sleeping to music:

https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/articles/benefits-of-playing-music-to-children-at-bedtime.html

https://www.sleepadvisor.org/listening-to-music-while-sleeping/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/ask-a-health-expert/my-baby-only-sleeps-when-we-play-music-will-this-cause-him-any-harm/article4310567/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/549496-adverse-effects-of-children-falling-asleep-with-music/

Overall, it's pretty positive (even the last one is very weak when you read through it - musical headbanging, really?). The main drawback is that your kid may become reliant on the music to sleep. But on the flip side, when you do want to make them sleep, playing those tunes helps to knock them out. So when I travel with the kids, I bring along the music player.

For me, the main other benefits that I see besides sleep association are:

  • The music covers up other sounds in the house e.g. we might be watching TV with explosions and gun fights in the next room
  • It may help the kid feel relaxed and secure if he wakes up in the middle of the night, helping him go back to sleep by himself without waking us up. I can't be sure about this, but my kids have been very good about sleeping through the night outside of infancy.
  • Extra exposure to classical-type music, which we normally wouldn't play during the day.

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1
Missylissy808•

every night for the past few years, my daughter falls asleep to the "spa music" station on Pandora. or the "koyasan" station on Pandora (it is reiki music...i have no idea was reiki is but the music is VERY soothing). We have been doing this for years. So far, so good.

But , Maybe you should ask your doc, and have them explain the effects to your wife.

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