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General Psychology Science Fair Project

Classical Music and Naptime Restfulness

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Classical Music and Naptime Restfulness | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
What happens when you play soft classical music during naptime? Some people fall asleep easily in silence. Others toss and turn no matter what. You observe a small group of nappers over ten days. On half the days, you play a classical symphony quietly. On the other half, the room stays silent. You record each person's movement during a ten-minute window. Compare the two conditions to see which one leads to calmer rest. The difference between music days and silent days may surprise you.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that a higher percentage of children will go to sleep or be restful during their naptime when soft classical music is being played.

Method & Materials

You will pick 6 children that come regularly every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, label them, and have them take their shoes off. You will dim the lights and play soft classical music. You will then video record the children sleeping for 10 minutes and tally if they moved or not.
You will need a cell phone and 6 childcare children.

Results

The results of the experiment showed that when music was played there was about half as much restless behavior. Four out of five trials showed that the children were more restful listing to music, usually by a lot.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it can help parents and daycares give the children restful sleep.

Also Consider

Variations to consider include testing different types of music against each other in addition to music against silence, and increasing the number of subjects to 25 instead of 6.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
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