
Classical Music vs. Ballads for Sleep
Hard
Does classical music help people fall asleep faster than sentimental ballads? This project compares two music types during naptime over 10 days. You play classical music on odd days and ballads on even days. A stopwatch tracks how many minutes each person takes to fall asleep.
Room conditions stay the same each day. Bed type, lighting, and temperature are all controlled. The only thing that changes is the music.
The results show whether one genre puts people to sleep faster than the other.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the children will be able to fall asleep more quickly while listening to classical music as opposed to other types of music.
Method & Materials
You will need to obtain permission from the nursery to conduct the experiment, and then request that the nursery maintains the same type and intensity of activities for the next 10 days. You will then play classical music during the children’s afternoon nap time on every odd day, and sentimental ballads during the children’s afternoon nap time on every even day.
You will need 10 approval slips, 10 preschoolers age 3 to 4, 1 classical music CD, 1 CD of sentimental songs (ballads), 1 portable stereo with a CD player, and 1 stopwatch.
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See what’s includedResults
The results showed that the children took a shorter time to fall asleep with classical music playing in the background as compared to sentimental music.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it explores the effects of music on sleep, and how different types of music can affect the time it takes for children to fall asleep.
Also Consider
Variations of this science project can include exploring the effects of different tempos or BPMs, different types of instruments, and different age groups.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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