How Soothing Baby Sounds and Melodies Affect Sleep and Development

Music and soothing sounds can be impactful for people of all ages. It can improve your moods, reduce stress, improve sleep quality, and more. Whether it's listening to your favorite songs or turning on some relaxing sounds, research on music has shown that it can benefit our physical, mental, and emotional health.  

When music is introduced at a young age, it can benefit your child during all stages of their life, even before birth. Playing music during the day, whether for entertainment or to encourage an introduction of instruments, music can also profoundly affect children's growth, both educationally and emotionally. Playing soft, relaxing melodies and sounds can foster a baby's development and promote comfort, helping ensure sound sleep- something all parents can get behind. 

During the first few years of life, children are growing at an astonishing rate. During a baby’s development, sleep is a critical part of his or her routine as it helps with the ability of your baby to learn throughout the day. Read on to learn more about how baby sounds and melodies affect sleep and development.

How Melodies and Soothing Sounds Impact Development and Sleep

Music and soothing sounds can be an incredible way to boost your children's development and encourage peaceful sleep. Parents and children don't have to be musically gifted to take advantage of the benefits. You can play melodies, listen to white noise, sing lullabies, play your favorite songs, or play with musical instruments as a part of baby and toddler playtime.

No matter the technique, introducing music can help benefit your baby's growth and development in many ways.

Calms and Relaxes Babies – Playing soft melodies and sounds with a soft tempo or white noise can help babies feel calm and relaxed, which is perfect for bedtime or naptime. Restful sleep can improve babies' moods and make them more open to learning later in the day. And it doesn't have to be reserved for bedtime; it can help regulate emotions and provide breaks from overstimulation at any time of the day. 

Develops Language Skills – Listening to music in any language relaxes babies and helps develop language skills. Music can help your baby learn how to speak and learn complex languages faster. It helps them memorize phrases, understand rhythm patterns, and even begin to understand the context. Children lullabies can teach babies and children about the world around them and improve their storytelling abilities opening up new ways to boost creativity. 

Increased Management and Understanding of Emotions – Music not only inspires emotions, but it can also help babies learn to better manage their emotions. Slow, soft repetitive music helps calm babies by slowing the heartbeat and allows for calmer and deeper breathing, perfect for quiet times and bedtimes. During play, music can be used as a mood booster, and keep in mind that music can evoke feelings even when there are no lyrics. Bring on the beautiful instrumentals!

Boosts Cognitive Development – Listening to music can activate areas of the brain at a higher capacity. The hearing system helps children process the sounds of music, allowing for more advanced listening and understanding of auditory signals. These cognitive abilities can boost language learning, speech perception and reading skills.

Helps with Problem Solving Abilities – Music can help babies understand their feelings and recognize patterns, leading them to better solving problems skills and discovering the world around them in rich and complex ways. The increased cognitive functions can help with memory, planning, and flexibility.

White Noise to Help Babies Fall Asleep Faster – Most babies struggle to get to sleep in the first year of their life. Introducing white noise can help block out background noise; some are even designed to mimic the sounds of the womb, which can be comforting- especially to newborns. And if you’re in the market for a baby monitor, you can get a VTech Smart Wifi Monitor which has soothing sounds and white noise- plus a lot of other cool stuff like a nightlight and interactive app.

As you probably know, white noise at a low sound can help babies fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply. And knowing newborns up to three months old need at least 14 to 17 hours of sleep, and older babies need at least 12 to 16 to encourage healthy growth and development – incorporating white noise is a great staple in your sleep routine.

Helps Develop Socialization – Music not only helps babies and toddlers understand their own emotions, but helps them perceive and understand others' emotions as well. Music helps develop empathy and creates connections and bonds with people and other children around them.

Helps Infant Development in the NICU

Have you heard of soothers? Research-based literature proves that music therapy and personalized voice messages can help infants in the NICU recover faster. These adorable soothers are great for babies at all stages. Check out this awesome video below on the effects of soothers and music for NICU infant care and these videos which show testimonials from healthcare workers on the positive effects of soothers and infant development in the NICU.

How to Introduce Music and Soothing Sounds for Your Baby 

With all the incredible benefits music and sounds can offer your child's development and healthy sleep, incorporating music into your daily routine is essential. While it's recommended to start listening to music while the baby is still in the womb, it's never too late to start and reap the benefits of introducing music into your child's life.

To give baby in utero the earliest introduction to music, you can start by listening to music while you relax, complete household chores, or even while falling asleep. It can have a significant role in brain development before birth. Music can help boost brain development and help babies recognize sounds, patterns, and rhymes. 

Using a white noise machine or playing white noise can help newborns and babies get the necessary sleep they need. As mentioned, the VTech Smart WiFi Baby Monitor has built-in soothing sounds and melodies, including white noise, that allow you to monitor your baby and play sounds when they need it most. And it’s highly recommended by moms!

You can sing lullabies as they grow, play music and encourage dance, or encourage play with instruments from an early age. No matter how you introduce music, whether it's playing soothing sounds and melodies for sleep or banging on drums together during playtime, the benefits are undeniable. Music is a powerful tool that encourages restful sleep and helps babies grow and develop more successfully.

As busy moms ourselves, we know you don't have time to shop around. That's why at the Women's Choice Award, we surveyed moms across America to determine the brands they would highly recommend. The verdict? A whopping 9 out of 10 women say they would recommend VTech baby monitors to their friends and family.