Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of lullaby music versus rain sounds on the percent of children who fell asleep during the first 20 minutes of naptime. Fifty-one children (N=51) between the ages of two and five, from six classrooms within a north Florida day care center, participated in the study. Children invited to participate regularly attended the facility. Each classroom practiced afternoon naptime following lunchtime prior to this study. Participants in all six classrooms listened to lullaby music and rain sounds on an alternating ABABAB or BABABA schedule over the course of six days, excluding weekends. A specially created form was utilized to record the number of children awake, asleep, and off task, each minute for the first 20 minutes of naptime. Results of a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the percent of children asleep at the end of 20 minutes for day one of the rain condition versus the lullaby condition across all classrooms. There were no statistically significant differences between the percent of children asleep at the end of 20 minutes for day two or three of the rain condition versus the lullaby condition across all conditions, as well as between the total average percent of children asleep at the end of 20 minutes across all days and classrooms for the rain versus lullaby condition. The advantage of the lullaby condition diminished over the three comparisons. Findings, suggestions for future research, and implications for music therapy practice are discussed.
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