Getting kids to go to sleep has long been a challenge for some, and there are beliefs that it got more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spotify got science and music together (the parts that aren't already together, music is applied math) to create what they are calling the perfect lullaby. Maybe it will help.

Swedish rappers Jaqueline “Mapei” Cummings and Jason “Timbuktu” are both parents of young children. After Jaqueline gave birth they went to the studio armed with the science of what sounds to use to create the most soothing lullaby according to sleep expert Helena Kubicek Boye. Then they released the work on Spotify Kids.

It's 2 songs turned into 8 variations over 24 minutes, with lyrics in a range that almost everyone can unconsciously transpose to their own (even if you don't know you do it) if you're a parent who likes to sing along. There's no Mariah Carey-type showing off.  They're slow like you'd expect, a bit ethereal. Parents might listen to track two and wonder about those minor chords but parents also were alarmed when Ursula got impaled through the stomach by the business end of a galley at the climax of "The Littler Mermaid" yet kids thought it was cool. 

Basically, don't overthink it through adult experiences. It's sleep music. 

The third variations are just humming along while the fourth are instrumental.

Science often tackles cultural issues. You can learn the optimal dance move for just about anyone, as we covered in the science of dancing, you can make the perfect cup of coffee. Does that really mean you can dance or love coffee? No, like psychology or BMI, these are population level, you may or may not ever like coffee, and this is instead a lullaby album that checks off all of the boxes we know about in regards to sleep. If you need more than 24 minutes or two songs are not enough, the artists created a playlist of lullabies they like.

It's worth a shot if you have a kid that just won't sleep.