Everybody seems to agree. Even the US National Institutes of Health and the National Sleep Foundation say that listening to some quiet music before going to sleep can help you wind down.

However, this advice could be counter-productive, according to a new study by Michael K. Scullin and colleagues at Baylor University. The work, published in Psychological Medicine, found that bedtime music was associated with more sleep disruptions. And that instrumental music is even worse than music with lyrics.

The data show that more overall time spent listening to music was associated with poorer sleep and daytime sleepiness.

Just over three quarters of the participants also reported experiencing frequent “earworms” — having a song or tune “stuck” and replaying in their minds. A quarter reported experiencing these during the night at least once per week, and these people were (unsurprisingly) six times as likely to report poor sleep quality.

The team’s analysis suggested that listening specifically to instrumental music near bedtime was linked to more sleep-related earworms and poorer sleep quality.

“Just because music listening is enjoyable does not mean that more music is always better for health outcomes,” the team writes.