Study finds Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata most popular music to fall asleep to
23 November 2020, 12:45 | Updated: 25 January 2021, 10:31
We’re assuming they mean the first movement, mind…
Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata is the most popular piece of music to fall asleep to, according to a global sleep study.
A fifth (20 percent) of UK respondents said the enduring 1801 piano work, known for the undulating triplets of its first movement, is the most likely music to help them drift off.
The study found it was solo piano music, overall, that made for the calmest of calm slumbers.
Of the 2,000 adult participants, 14 percent said Chopin’s relaxing Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major was the most likely to bring them instant calm and induce sleep.
The research, carried out by digital health management brand Zepp, found that nearly one in five people (19 percent) listen to relaxing music at bedtime every night.
Read more: 11 of the most relaxing pieces of piano music >
Pianist creates mesmerising visualisation of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
Meanwhile, almost a third (32 percent) those people surveyed said that calming music helped them drift off.
Classical music was the genre found to be most effective at helping people sleep soundly, followed by pop and country or folk music.
89 percent of respondents globally agreed that listening to calming music can help with sleep.
Recent studies on the calming power of classical music have found that listening to orchestral melodies can boost mental health and wellbeing in isolation.
Meanwhile, a piece of research in the US claimed that listening to Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata the night before an exam can improve academic performance.
Looking for more relaxing music? Listen to the Classic FM Relax playlist on Global Player.
