Parents, helping your child get a peaceful sleep while also helping brain development can be a matter of choosing the right music for their nursery. Not only can calming music help your child to be able to fall asleep without you in the room, but it can also benefit their health. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) notes that “Listening to calming music can help a child regain balance. Even very young children can enjoy relaxing to classical music—or the sound of whales communicating or waves breaking on the beach.” Helping your child relax at bedtime will make for a much more restful sleep.
Music and Development
Brain development is crucial for infants and toddlers. More connections are made in the brain during the first few years of life than most of the other years combined. Infants and toddlers are learning to navigate their environments, communicate with others, and reconcile new information. However, with so much information coming in at once, it can be overwhelming.Everything is new for children. Music can help strengthen these connections. Bright Horizons argues, “Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words.” Exposing children to music can happen at any time in a variety of situations, none easier than nap time.
Music and Sleep
Music can also help children sleep more restfully, which further increases brain development.Music is often used in daycare centers and hospital nurseries as background noise during sleep.Not only can it drown out the noise from around the home or center, but it can also help relax your child. For children who are struggling to fall asleep or who may be experiencing anxiety,music can help them feel more rested. Sleep Foundation says, “Music has the power to slow your heart rate and breathing, lower your blood pressure, and it may even trigger your muscles to relax.” Children experiencing separation anxiety or other typical anxieties of growth may find that relaxing music can help them sleep when they feel stress.
Sleep and Development
Sleep is crucial for brain development. While children take in vast amounts of information daily,they also need time to let that data settle into their brains. The brain can only make so many connections at once. However, when children are not well-rested, they often have more trouble with memory or recall of important information. According to the Superior North Catholic District School Board, “Getting good sleep helps the brain increase brain tissue (known as grey matter) as well as alter brain circuits known as synapses. Although the adult brain is capable of making these changes, it does so at a smaller scale. The most crucial period for these brain changes is during the first three years of life.” While sleep is not the only way to build these synapses, it is the best way.
What Music is Best?
Any music can benefit children during sleep, but soothing music will be the best for them. If your child is especially fond of piano music, you can play “Relax into the Zone Music,” which lasts about three hours. While your child may not need the entire three hours to fall asleep, the extended period can help the brain to continue developing while they sleep. The combination of restful sleep and soothing music will increase their brain development.
If, on the other hand, you prefer lullabies and familiar music, you might want to use “Sleep Music for Kids” during their nap. This playlist is significantly shorter, so it can be used for the duration of their nap time. At only an hour, it can also help you to lull your child to sleep if they are feeling particularly anxious one day. Sometimes, children are overstimulated at nap time. This playlist can help calm their senses and get them on their way to restful sleep.
If the pitches in the last playlist are a little higher than your child prefers, you might consider using this “Sleep Music For Kids, Little Wonder Lullaby” playlist instead. It is also soothing and lasts about an hour. It will help your child relax from a stimulating day and feel more rested upon waking. A well-rested child can also take in more information because they are not fighting sleep.
Bottom Line
Your child will benefit from listening to music during nap time for a variety of reasons. Calming,restful sleep contributes to mental, physical, and cognitive functions for children and adults. At The Sleep Melody’sYouTube channel, you can find wonderful music to make your child’s sleep more restful and productive. If you already play music for your child during nap time, what do they like to hear?
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