Music and Sleep A Scientific Perspective

Kira Vibe Jespersen is Associate Professor at Center for Music in the Brain at Aarhus University, Denmark. With a unique interdisciplinary background in psychology, neuroscience and music therapy, her research focuses on clinical applications of music with a particular interest in the effect of music on sleep and the use of music for insomnia. In her research, she evaluates both the effects of music interventions and the potential neurophysiological mechanisms underlying these effects. In addition, she is a trained musician.

Björn Rasch is Professor of Cognitive Biopsychology and Methods at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He has been actively involved in basic sleep research for over 25 years, and has published in leading scientific journals such as Science, Nature Neuroscience, PNAS and Physiological Reviews. He has edited and written several books on memory consolidation, hypnosis research and sleep.

His research focus is on sleep, cognition and health, and he has completed many studies involving the presentation of auditory stimuli during sleep. Recently, he has started conducting several studies on music processing during sleep. In addition, he is trained in music theory and is an active musician.