Falling into a dream state can be anxiety-inducing for the around 25% of Americans who say they have difficulty sleeping most nights. Some turn to music, hoping gentle sounds will guide them to the land of Nod.

Though few studies have looked at the impact of music on sleep, one expert, Mathias Basner, an associate professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, explains how sounds can affect sleep and why rituals are the key to a restful night.

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