Listening to music before bedtime is a technique used by many to aid a good night's sleep — but it now appears that winding down with music could actually be the last thing you should be doing before going to bed.
The problem is it increases your chances of experiencing an ear worm — a song that gets stuck in your head — according to research published in the journal Psychological Science.
And if this happens regularly (one or more times a week), you're six times more likely to have poor quality sleep, with more night-time waking, causing drowsiness the next day.
These findings cast doubt on the widely-held view that music is beneficial for a good night's sleep.
Indeed, many of the study participants — 87 per cent — thought this, but the research showed that in fact 'those who listened to more music slept worse'.
Listening to music before bedtime is a technique used by many to aid a good night's sleep — but it now appears that winding down with music could actually be the last thing you should be doing before going to bed
Ear worms, which almost all of us experience, tend to be catchy, rhythmic tunes because these are easier to remember.
Common ones include We Will Rock You by Queen and Happy by Pharrell Williams, according to research in 2016 carried out by the University of St Andrews.
Ear worms — medically known as involuntary musical imagery — are harmless, although having a song playing on a permanent loop in your head can be irritating.
The cause is a bit of a mystery but previous research has suggested that listening to music, stress and memories play a part.
'Whether you are actually listening to music or imagining the same music [an ear worm] almost the same activity is happening in the brain,' explains Dr Amir-Homayoun Javadi, a senior lecturer in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Kent.
'In both cases there is increased activity in the primary auditory cortex, the area that normally processes sounds. However, with an ear worm, there is no sound — it's just happening in your head.'
What hasn't been investigated until now is whether ear worms also occur at night.
Dr Michael Scullin, a sleep researcher at Baylor University in the U.S., decided to
