Music & Sleep!

This week our class participated in the BDMS science fair! I had to use my interests and conduct a science experiment. After conducting the experiment we had to create a poster board and send it in to BDMS. For my experiment, I looked at music and people's ability to sleep. I always used to sleep with music on, but as I got older I stopped. I always wondered how I was able to sleep without music after all this time while throughout my teenage years  I have been listening to music. 

      When starting to conduct my experiment, I had two participants. The first participant listens to music every night she falls asleep, whereas the other participant did not. Both participants were required each night to listen to different types of music and one night without any music. This helped determine what kind of music or if no music helped the individual sleep at night. After all the data was collect, I concluded that both participants slept better when listening to relaxing classical music. To collect the data I had my participants keep a journal. When they woke up the next day they were to record their feelings within that journal. There were certain questions that they were to address and those questions included: 

   1. How did you sleep? 

2. What type of music did you listen to? 

3. What type of music do you enjoy? Did you enjoy this one?

Then after the day is done they will write in their journal one more time to answer the following question: 

4. Were you exhausted throughout the day? 

5. Did you take a nap? 

      

      When collecting data and conducting this experiment I did not use any resources on the topic or any other websites for this project. For this experiment I knew what I was doing and my information on the topic I was focusing on. I used past experiences as well as my friends past experiences to further inform myself. If I were to elaborate more on this experiment I would have fully explained what I have done and the process. I also would have explain in depth more on my research as well. Below is a picture of my science fair project! 

       I thought this project was very enjoyable. I loved how I was able to do whatever experiment I found an interest in. I also enjoyed the process of the experiment and going through the scientific method.  I felt as if I was an actual scientist figuring out a problem. You can accommodate this kind of science fair project to meet the needs of different grade levels abilities. When doing it in a higher grade level you can go more in depth with the project by actually doing more research on an individuals brain and how it works to figure out exactly why it is we can sleep with or without music. For younger grades you can do what I have mainly done. Conduct the experiment based on past experience.
 

     I think science fairs are a great part in student's education. It helps them become creative and help

them understand the scientific method better. Throughout the project you are going through the scientific method. You will formulate the question, which is do individual sleep better with music or without. Then you will do research on the topic based on grade level. You could look at the human bodies brain and figure out why this is happening or look through the past and look at people's past sleeping habitats and how that can be incorporated to this experiment. The next would be to figure out a hypothesis. What way do you this people can sleep better in? Do you think the person who listens to music sleeps better or the one without music? You would then conduct your experiment. I mentioned above how I conducted the experiment and thats who you would go through that section of the scientific method. Then collect the data and draw conclusions through what you have found. Did the participants sleep better with the music? Then you would report. Was your hypothesis correct? These are the steps I followed throughout my science fair project. I throughly and carefully made sure I completed each aspect of this method to get the full results. 

When I become a teacher I hope that my school has science fairs and if they do I will definitely encourage my students to participate in them. If they don't I would try and have my class have their own mini science fair. This way they would get a chance to participate in one just like it and get that experience!