Sleep, "Sleep Genius", my brain and music

​​Both Lynn and I have been using the Sleep Genius app on our iPads, both for falling asleep at night and for napping.  Our two main senses, hearing and sight, are not usually been ranked equally.  Many people clearly feel that being blind would be an immediate and severe change while hearing less acutely would not be much loss.  I have written about the book by Seth Horowitz, PhD called "The Universal Sense".  The title refers to hearing, in us and other animals.  For a taste of Horowitz's writing, see this NYTimes article.

There are many apps for the iPad and for Android devices (phones and tablets that use the Google operating system called "Android").  The iPad more or less started the tablet rage and has been a very successful product.  There are quite a few apps that relate to sleep and relaxation.  "Sleep Genius" is the only one I have tried.  The text part of it advises to stick with the same time for bed at night and the same choice of sounds to listen to.  By now, I have listened to the first choice many times and I can see that my brain takes those sounds to be a signal to forget about the world and just turn off for a while.

Evidently, we humans tend to have four or five sleep cycles during a night's sleep, each lasting about 90 minutes.

"Sleep Genius" advises itself on its web site as the leading sleep app.  The site advertises connections to several other people besides Horowitz, including the author of "Healing at the Speed of Sound".  I read in "Healing from the Heart" that the well-known physician, Dr. Oz, had special musicians play at his house to assist his wife in getting rid of some pain.  I thought that was goofy but as time has gone by, I am more open to the possibility of being positively affected by sound.  I certainly accept the notion that me and my body will be encouraged by some words spoken by the doctor and discouraged by other ones.  I certainly can feel my emotion and spirit being lifted by the William Tell overture and some arias by Luciano Pavarotti.  I can feel my distaste for some of the thumping, screaming stuff played in the weight room I attend.

I am interested in sound and music therapy and I would not be surprised if the doctor tells me to listen to Abba acall him in the morning.  No wonder I am interested.  This is from the book "Healing at the Speed of Sound":

When my book The Mozart Effect was first published in 1997, much of our knowledge of sound's effects on the human mind, body, and spirit remained in the realm of the anecdotal and even the intuitive. We knew that college students who listened to Mozart's music did better on temporal/ spatial tests taken shortly after the listening experience. We had heard from numerous health-care professionals that listening to music appeared to increase patients' tolerance for pain and sped up their surgical recovery times, and that it even seemed to enhance premature infants ' growth rates in pediatric ICUs. We had seen how, in certain special programs in schools, drumming circles had a remarkable impact on troubled youth. Few thorough studies had been conducted to scientifically validate these reports or to explain how the results were achieved. Scientists had not yet traced the ways in which rhythm and sound have facilitated connection, communication, and community. Now, in the twenty-first century, that situation has changed.

Campbell, Don; Doman, Alex (2011-09-29). Healing at the Speed of Sound: How What We Hear Transforms Our Brains and Our Lives . Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition.

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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety