'Bedtime Beats' lulls mind to sleep

For most of my life I've had a sleeping disorder. I'm an insomniac. I've had trouble getting my zzz's since I was in elementary school.

Part of the problem is the fact that I love the night. I don't want to waste the darkness. Another factor is when I lie down to sleep, a section of my brain starts to whisper things like "You're wasting time on sleep. Do something productive." Or, "You could be writing another column."

There are times when the clock says 2:30 a.m. and my body is tired and my brain is telling me to go to sleep, but that same brain starts to act up to see just how much longer I can stay awake. It's hard to explain, but it's like working out. You run a few miles and then your mind starts to play games — "How much further can you run?" "Can you run just a few more yards?" And then, "Can you run just a little longer?"

Sometimes my body just doesn't want to settle down. These are my symptoms, but they're 10 times worse than they sound.

So I was glad to see that Rhino Records and Smash Arts, a New York-based lifestyle and entertainment development firm, have collaborated to help people like me.

They have immersed themselves in pages and pages of insomnia studies. One of those — "Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults," published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing in February 2005 — concluded that music, with an emphasis on compositions that are centered around 60 to 80 beats per minute, helps people sleep longer and more soundly.

So, Smash Arts and Rhino compiled a list of classical music that features 60 to 80 beats per minute.

The result: "Bedtime Beats," a two-disc compilation that features such classical numbers as Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto in D major and Saint-Saens' "The Swan."

When I found out Rhino Records was offering this release, I ordered it. And put it on my iPod.

To tell you the truth, I've slept more soundly in the past couple of weeks than I have in my life. Sure, it may be psychological, but the music is so relaxing. It seems to be working.

Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 and No. 2, Mozart's Adagio for Violin in E major and Albinoni's "Adagio" (which, by the way, was the late Doors singer Jim Morrison's favorite piece of music) have introduced me to the sandman in an unobtrusive way.

Using music to sleep isn't anything new — according to historical accounts, J.S. Bach was commissioned by Count Von Keyserlingk, who suffered from insomnia, to compose the Goldberg Variations so harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg could lull the Count to sleep.

So it's fitting that "Aria," from those variations, is included in the mix.

While "Bedtime Beats" is designed to help people with sleeping disorders, it is also good to play during designated quiet times for anyone who enjoys good music.

Just don't attempt to play these CDs if you are the driver on a cross-country road trip.

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com