Music to fall asleep to/how it affects your dreams

[Humanicide]

I love to fall asleep while listening to music, though i barely get the opportunity being that my father's room is right next to mine.... .

but anyway, do any of you here like to fall asleep while having music playing? and if so, have you found that it affects your dreams at all?

Two specific instances, that I can remember:

I fell asleep one night listening to Varathron's "His Majesty At the Swamp". I dreamt such a strange world, in which everywhere was swampland. I was not in human form, but rather, simply floating around like some sort of higher being, exploring all which was within. I cannot remember much else, but i woke up feeling very tranquil and well rested.

Another time, I fell asleep listening to Nokturnal Mortem's "Goat Horns" and dreamt I was on a ship, an old wooden style frigate. The ship was in battle, and I woke up right when two beings (im not sure they were human) stabbed me through the stomach and threw me down a flight of stairs.

Anyway, enough rambling. Any thoughts?

[AttheGates1996]

This is surely a very interesting observation. There is nothing that fascinates me more than the psychological effect that music has on the human body. I have never fallen asleep to music with the exception of a few occasions but I did not have or remember a dream. I simply can not fall asleep because whilst I listen to music I try my hardest to analyze every note so I can to further train myself with ear reading. This distracts me and keeps me alert.

However, I have found that on a day I don’t listen to music for quite a while I become irritable and in an almost withdrawal state. I simply can not live without music. It flows in my veins and is definitely part of my soul. Therefore, in times of stress, music always relaxes me, and in some cases helps me concentrate better.

[nAMELESShERETIC]

I have fallen asleep countless times while listening to music, yet I couldn't tell you for sure if it ever really affected my dreams or not.
In a somewhat funny story though, many years ago I was listening to Slayer's "Live: Decade of Aggression" at maximum volume and somehow or another managed to dose off. I must of only been asleep about 25 minutes, and when I awoke I was greeted with a military tank like greeting from the stereo. In my confused state I remember thinking that I had turned it on by accident and tried to reach for the remote to turn it down/off, only to see that the remote was nowhere to be found. In my foggy mindset I paniced, "Why is Slayer annihilating my house!" sort of thing. Anyway, I flung over, hit the power botton, and sat in a stupor while I gathered my bearings and figured out what had actually happened.

Maybe you had to be there...

[necropotence]

If you are going to decide to listen to music while you fall asleep, I found that that Beherit's Electric Doom Synthesis to be an excellent album to fall asleep to.  

[Humanicide]

I used to have "Electric Doom Synthesis", but it was deleted when my computer crashed.  :-/

[Stranger]

The song I usually go to when I want to fall asleep is the fifth track off Filosofem.

Or I'll put on some Biosphere.

[Dave]

You might want to check out the ambient music of Robert Rich. While in college he used to put on "sleep concerts", in which a bunch of people would sleep in a room in sleeping bags, while Rich played his ambient music all night. It's supposed to affect your REM cycle in some way, though I'm not sure exactly how. He released an album called Somnium that attempts to recreate the atmosphere of these concerts. It's seven hours long, released on a DVD to accommodate the length. I haven't heard it myself, but if you're truly interested in this, buy it and see for yourself.

[David_Ravel]

The song I usually go to when I want to fall asleep is the fifth track off Filosofem.

Or I'll put on some Biosphere.

Same thing here, but I'll add Tangerine Dream.

Thing is, observation I did, if I listen to music that I like alot while trying to sleep, my sleep is generally easier, and I don't have any kind of nightmares. If I don't listen to music or I listen to something I don't like (not that I dislike, but rather like... a new CD or something), it's much more difficult.

I'm pretty sure there must be a study on music VS sleep around on the internet. I don't think they add Metal Music as we speak, but maybe they did it with ambiant and classical music ?

[o.d.i.r.]

I have fallen asleep countless times while listening to music, yet I couldn't tell you for sure if it ever really affected my dreams or not.
In a somewhat funny story though, many years ago I was listening to Slayer's "Live: Decade of Aggression" at maximum volume and somehow or another managed to dose off. I must of only been asleep about 25 minutes, and when I awoke I was greeted with a military tank like greeting from the stereo. In my confused state I remember thinking that I had turned it on by accident and tried to reach for the remote to turn it down/off, only to see that the remote was nowhere to be found. In my foggy mindset I paniced, "Why is Slayer annihilating my house!" sort of thing. Anyway, I flung over, hit the power botton, and sat in a stupor while I gathered my bearings and figured out what had actually happened.

Maybe you had to be there...

Haha, quite a picture to visualize

Sadly my headphones are too big for me to use while sleeping (I have a very hard time falling asleep in any position but on my stomach). However I do sometimes just lay in bed listening to certain ambient albums before I sleep, such as Vinterriket's Lichtschleier, an ambient album that gives you the feeling you're in a small wooden cabin in the middle of a snow filled landscape, or perhaps by the seashore, surrounded by the sounds of icy cold wind and rain pelting your humble cabin which is among the few things giving you some semblance of warmth and comfort. Brian Eno & Harold Budd's The Pearl (the track "An Echo Of Night" in particular) is also among my favorites to listen to in this fashion.

[Apocalyptic Raves]

Might want to invest in some Steve Roach. His music has kind of a "nighty" feel to it as it is, very atmospheric, there are underlying melodies which become apparent if you listen to the tracks on fast forward, but in normal playing it's almost too slow to notice the pattern right away.

[oogaa]

I always listen to songs while I sleep. I put the the headphones on, switch the lights off and then lie in the bed. It is the most intimate musical experience that I ever get. The songs become humane in the sense they are not just music but it's almost like they've morphed into this physical living being. I'd recommend everyone to atleast try it. The stuffs  that I listen to mostly are - Mozart, Paganini, Classical Death Metal (Morbid Angel, Immolation etc.), Classical Westernized Indian (Shakti, Jonas Hellborg), Steve Vai etc.
I'am yet to experience anything abnormal or interesting with my dreams though.

[Horrific Prophecies]

I have mild tinnitus, so i regularly listen to something when I go to sleep. Stuff like Tangerine Dream, Aphex Twin, Burzum (later), Steve Roach, et cetera.
Recommended: Sleep Research Facility
Occasionally Ill listen to music for a while, in which case it could be anything that isnt too hard-hitting . Metal of a more ambient nature is the most enjoyable in the mental state that awaits sleep.

Might want to invest in some Steve Roach. His music has kind of a "nighty" feel to it as it is, very atmospheric, there are underlying melodies which become apparent if you listen to the tracks on fast forward, but in normal playing it's almost too slow to notice the pattern right away.

Interesting...
Has anyone else experimented with brainwave generator programs?

[shadowmystic]

I do the majority of my music listening while going to sleep, lately I have been listening mostly to classical, Bach, Bruckner, Beethoven, Vivaldi all do it for me.  I listen to metal CD's alot when I'm falling asleep, although my collection isn't that big so I repeat the alot, In the Nightside Eclipse and the first At the Gates album work nicely.  I especially like listening to that Emperor album at night, it invokes very clear images in my mind of winter landscapes that carry over into my dreams.  Tangerine Dream is good, and I always get a good nights sleep after listening to Wongraven's album.

I'm not really sure about music's affect on dreams, it would be interesting to look into, but I don't remember most of mine so it's hard to say.  Emperor and Wongraven seem to be the bands that have a direct affect on my dreams.

[-H418ov21.C]

I used to have "Electric Doom Synthesis", but it was deleted when my computer crashed.  :-/

Don't despair. ;-)

I also find the album to be particularly fitting for falling asleep and letting the music reach you subconsciously. It has a deep meditative/trance-like dimension that can only be reached when the mind loses its grip like when you fall asleep or have a really bad fever (in the second case it becomes terrifying, and you'll find yourself feeling such things as : "but where's the ground ?").

The Necromantia / Varathron split "Black Arts Lead To Everlasting Sins" has a relaxing effect on me and is perfect to listen to in an evening or a night at loud volume, to set a favourable ambience for preparing me to sleep. A Metal album must not sound too aggressive in order to accomplish this ; and Greek BM, this split in particular, is perfect in that regard. It's heavy, but relaxed and confident. Like a spell.


Unfortunately I don't dream often, or perhaps I don't remember dreams. So I haven't experienced dreams after having listened to music yet. But I could feel good when waking up, the mind cleared.

[chrstphrbnntt]

Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail: For 400 Electric Guitars... will edit in more later.