Calm conditions help the body settle into restful sleep. But does the type of music playing at naptime make a difference? In this experiment, eight children at a childcare center napped on alternating days to either Mozart or Beatles music. Thirty minutes in, ten minutes of footage was recorded and reviewed — with every large body movement tallied. Children made about half as many restless movements during Mozart sessions compared to Beatles sessions. The steady rhythm of classical music appears to help the body reach the deeper rest it needs.

Sleep quality turns out to be sensitive to what's playing in the room. When researchers played Mozart during naptime, children made about half as many restless movements compared to sessions with Beatles music. The slower tempo and simpler structure of classical music may calm the body into deeper rest.