Because of the heavy sounds and aggressive lyrics, heavy metal is often associated with restlessness, rowdiness, and rage, all of which tend to impair sleep. Many people, though, claim that heavy metal music makes them feel sleepy and relaxed. Is this true? Can heavy metal bring you to sleep? Read on to find out. 

Positive and Negative Effects of Heavy Metal Music

Studies show that heavy metal music has both positive and negative results on the listener, but these results tend to depend on whether or not the listener is a fan of heavy metal music; heavy metal fans experience positive effects, while heavy metal critics experience negative effects. Let’s look more closely at the effects of heavy metal music. 

Negative Effects 

Studies show that heavy metal music negatively impacts the well-being of those who do not like the genre of music. For participants who claim to dislike heavy metal, the researchers found that the music impairs the participant’s spatial rotation and short term memory. Additionally, it increases their anxiety while listening to the music. 
More importantly, though, the study suggests that the negative effects increase after the listener turns off the music. The researchers state, “Interestingly, those participants who listened to heavy metal music not only experienced greater levels of state anxiety but were even more anxious after listening to the heavy metal music than when they were being stressed.”

Though the study did not measure heavy metal’s direct effect on sleep, one could easily deduce that listening to heavy metal music has a negative impact on sleep. The reason you could make this conclusion is that many sleep disorders and impairments are caused or exacerbated by stress. 

As a result, the increased anxiety caused by heavy metal could make the music have a negative impact on the listener’s sleep cycle. In other words, heavy metal has an indirect negative impact on sleep, which would do the opposite of bringing you to sleep.

Positive Effects 

Interestingly, though, the negative effects mentioned above were only experienced by people who do not like heavy metal music. With the exception of short term memory impairment, people who enjoy heavy metal music do not experience any of the negative effects, such as anxiety, listed above. Instead, they have the opposite response. 

More specifically, heavy-metal-listeners experience a number of positive effects whenever they listen to the genre. Notably, studies suggest that heavy metal music helps listeners to process their own emotions. Researchers theorize that the anger and emotions of the music allow a venue for the listener to process and explore their own emotions. 

Since the music allows the listener to process their own emotions, the listener experiences a decrease in anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are two things that heavy-metal-listeners often experience, so the effects of the music collectively help the fan base. 

Researching psychologists have stated, “Among our sample of extreme music fans in the normal range on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, the majority reported that they listened to extreme music for a range of emotional effects – most pertinently to fully experience anger and to calm themselves down when feeling angry.” 
Additionally, heavy metal music seems to reduce social anxiety in fans. Though heavy metal music is associated with delinquency, the opposite is true. Polls show that some of the most intelligent youths enjoy heavy metal, and the music encourages social interaction and communication. 

Once again, these studies did not look at the direct relationship between heavy metal music and sleep, but you can infer that heavy metal music helps fans relax and fall asleep. In this case, heavy metal may bring you to sleep. 

Heavy Metal and Sleep: The Final Verdict

So, the question remains: can heavy metal bring you to sleep? The answer to this question lies in whether or not you like the genre already. 

If you do not like heavy metal music, chances are that the genre will not bring you to sleep. Instead, you may experience stress and anxiety, which will inhibit your sleep. So, heavy metal music will not bring you to sleep if you dislike the genre. 

If you like heavy metal music, though, it may help you fall asleep. Since heavy metal music reduces fans’ anxiety and allows them to better comprehend their emotions, the genre has an indirect positive effect on one’s sleep. If you find yourself with less anxiety and are not thinking about your emotions, you are likely to fall asleep quickly. 

Final Thoughts   

Heavy metal music can have a positive or negative impact on the listener, depending on whether or not the listener enjoys the genre. For heavy metal music fans, you may want to try listening to your favorite songs if you can’t fall asleep or have a look at Sleepstandards.com to choose a right mattress for yourself.