How lullabies can help your child sleep

The following article was written by Patrice Cosier, an experienced education specialist in music and movement therapy. Patrice holds a Masters Degree in Music and has composed a wonderful CD, blending lullaby styles with relaxation techniques, proven to help your child sleep. Thank you Patrice for your inspiring article!

Research suggests that humans are programmed to respond to music. Proof of this, says Dr. Mark Tramo, director of the Institute For Music and Brain Science, is that there is no known human culture without music."We have an innate predisposition to be able to apprehend an emotion and meaning in music," said Tramo. "When you listen to a baby babble,... they're experimenting with their voice and learning how to make vocal sounds by using the vocal apparatus as an instrument -- the first musical instrument was voice..."This might be a good explanation why mothers all over the world instinctively help their babies get to sleep by humming and singing. What could be more soothing to a baby than hearing a soft song, sung by a mother's loving voice?The science and healing aspects of music have been proven. Slow tempos, triple meters and simple harmonies have been effective in relaxing and calming babies. But the indisputable proof of music's effectiveness is when babies fall peacefully asleep to either soft music or a lullaby sung by it's mother or someone familiar to the baby.When I was a young mother, I discovered a winning formula to help baby sleep and I have used it with my grandchildren: Get comfortable, preferably in a rocking chair, and hold your baby while softly humming or playing beautiful instrumental music, (music with vocals proved to be distracting to the baby who seemed to prefer it's mother's voice or instrumental music). Take slow, deep breaths to calm yourself. Your baby will intuit your calmness and relax even more.This has always worked for me, and not only did the baby get a good night's sleep, so did I!
Patrice Cosier, MA

Patrice's website is www.goodnightlullabies.com