- New study has revealed the best movies to help you fall asleep, with Fantastic Mr. Fox coming out on top
- Studio Ghibli classics, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, were the second and third most popular
- Romance, coming-of-age and animation the most popular genres to fall asleep to
We’ve all done it – put a film on in the evening and 20 minutes later being fast asleep on the sofa.
But some films are more likely than others to see us into the Land of Nod, it seems. Bed furnishing experts at Bed Kingdom used online film cataloguing service Letterboxd to determine the most sleep-inducing films. They analysed more than 1,700 user-generated lists that featured sleep-related terms such as ‘bedtime’, ‘fall asleep to’, ‘sleepy’, and ‘unwind’ to find which movies people most commonly watch to help them drift off.
Taking the top spot as the most popular film to fall asleep to was Fantastic Mr. Fox. Adapted from the Roald Dahl novel, the movie combines Wes Anderson’s signature deadpan humour, distinctive stop-motion animation visuals and a whimsy score, establishing it as the perfect film for children and adults to fall asleep to.
In second place was My Neighbor Totoro. The Studio Ghibli animation depicts two young girls as they befriend magical wood spirits in postwar rural Japan. Accompanied by a gentle score by Joe Hisaishi, the film’s slow slice-of-life storytelling make it ideal for dozing off to.
Following in third was another Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. Often considered Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, the film portrays young girl Chihiro on a quest to reunite with her parents after she inadvertently enters a spirit world upon moving to a new neighborhood.
The full 10 most popular movies to fall asleep to were:
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- Little Women (2019)
- Before Sunrise (1995)
- Call Me by Your Name (2017)
- Pride & Prejudice (2005)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
“Films are a popular choice for winding down,” said Ashley Hainsworth, founder of Bed Kingdom. “Most films air on TV in the evening, and the introduction of streaming services has made it easy for anyone to switch on a film when they want to fall asleep, so it’s no surprise that there are so many people documenting their favourite films to fall asleep to.
“Most films on the list have very distinct features in common. A delicate, relaxing, or otherwise pleasant score is one of the most popular elements to a lot of these movies. Soft instrumental music can easily lull someone into sleep.
“Stunning visuals or striking animation also seem to frequently occur among the films featured on the list. These can be mesmerising and easy to get lost in or find yourself nodding off to.
“Interestingly, a lot of the films featured on the list are very dialogue heavy. This is probably because it produces a low hum that makes comforting background noise and is easy to tune out of.
“There are also specific genres that dominate the list. Romance, coming-of-age and animation films appear a lot throughout the ranking, likely due to their light-hearted or tender themes. Films that spotlight character, mood and theme take prominence over films that are plot or action heavy.”
