The EIGHT-HOUR lullaby for adults promising a perfect night's sleep: Four insomniacs put new £25 classical record to the test... so does it really work?

• BBC Radio 3 will broadcast eight-hour 'lullaby' this weekend in full 
• Titled 'Sleep', record is designed to promote good quality slumber  
• Composer Max Richter consulted neuroscientist when making the record
• Four FEMAIL writers played the music while sleeping overnight

By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline

Published: 03:44 EST, 24 September 2015 | Updated: 09:58 EST, 24 September 2015

Anyone who's grappled with insomnia will tell you that they'd do almost anything to be able to get a good night's sleep. 

It's a malaise that almost all of us have suffered from at some point in our lives.  

The clock ticks, you toss and turn, the darkness turns to a half-light, the birdsong begins...and then slumber takes you, ten minutes before you're supposed to get up for work.

Scroll down for video 

Sleeping like a baby? Bianca London said she felt fresher in the morning but didn't like sleeping in headphones

When BBC Radio 3 broadcasts the latest work by German composer Max Richter later this month, more than a few insomniacs are expected to tune in. 

Richter's album, titled Sleep, is eight hours long; an unbroken piece of music that the composer has described as 'my personal lullaby for a frenetic world'. 

When Radio 3 sends it out over the airways live and in its entirety on Saturday, it will be the longest single piece of music ever to be broadcast by the corporation.

That's the headline story; but for anyone who's ever battled a sleep problem, it may also offer a glimmer of hope to those whose heads hit the pillow every night but find they can't switch off.

The condensed album version of the works, priced at a princely £25, is already top of the music charts.

Discussing the work, Richter says he became fascinated by what goes on 'under the hood' while we're asleep and worked with a neuroscientist to make music that might actually enhance the sleeping experience.

Is music the key to sweet dreams? Bianca London, 26, from London downloads German composer Max Richter's latest music, the eight-hour Sleep...but was she sold on the lullaby?

German composer Max Richter has composed the eight-hour piece of music, released on the Deutsche Grammophon record label, which will be broadcast on Radio 3 in its entirety

He said: 'I have a sense that while I'm asleep some of the most important work is taking place "under the hood".

'I started talking with the neuroscientist David Eagleman, and it seems that cognitive mental processes really are going on while we're sleeping that relate to our waking life. 

He adds: 'I think most creative people would intuitively agree: for instance, if we sleep on a decision we often feel more comfortable about our thinking in the morning. I see the eight-hour piece as an environment, a place to inhabit.'

Max Richter's Sleep could be the solution to the modern insomnia epidemic

Ahead of the broadcast, four FEMAIL writers who struggle to drop off described their normal sleeping habits and how a night listening to Richter's eight-hour lullaby, which is scored for piano, strings, electronics and vocals affected their slumber.

Bianca London, 26, from south London, struggles to fall asleep and has tried plenty of sleep-inducing tactics including lavender and meditation

Falling asleep is a near-impossible task for me and the only time I can nod off straight away is if I've had a couple of drinks.

I have never taken a nap in my life and I find sleeping a bit of a waste of time; I would rather catch up on the latest episode of Made In Chelsea.

Even if I am shattered, as soon as my head hits the pillow, I start recounting the entire day’s activities from start to finish or think about what I will have for dinner the next evening.

I have tried lavender, meditating and counting back from 300 in threes (which stressed me out so much it made things worse), so I didn’t hold out much hope that Max Richter could send me to the land of nod.

Whilst I only ever listened to classical music when studying for my MA (apparently it makes you smarter), this music was pretty relaxing and did help me chill out. 

My main gripe was sleeping with my headphones in to avoid angering my boyfriend, who prefers to fall asleep to Sky Sports news. I was also fretting about my alarm ringing in my ears at 6am.

I did feel fresher when I woke up and found it easier to spring out of bed but I think £25 is a little excessive for something you can probably get for free on YouTube. 

Jo Tweedy, 36, from South West London, generally sleeps soundly but is occasionally guilty of checking her iPhone in the middle of the night

I'll be honest, I rarely struggle to actually get to sleep. My alarm goes off at 5.40am so by the time the clock has swung back round to 9.30pm, you'll find me more than ready to fall into the land of nod.

Happy to sleep... but not always peacefully: Jo Tweedy played the app quietly and had a good night's sleep

But as much as Max Richter's music is about helping you drift off, it also seems to be about encouraging you to have good sleep, an idea that I'm less familiar with. 

With a four-year-old and an 18-month-old, I'm more than used to getting up in the night. 

While the days of extreme sleep deprivation are in the past - they generally sleep pretty well - a random cough or rustle in the night can leave me staring at the moon for an hour or so. If I dare to look at my iPhone, you can add another 30 minutes.

I like classical music but I'm not sure I liked this, there are sections that feel like what I used to listen to in church as a child. The point probably isn't to like it though, more whether it makes you feel sleepy. 

At first it was too loud, too distracting. I switched it down so it was just audible and found myself feeling soothed by it. I woke once in the night but fell back to sleep quickly. While I think you'd need to test it out for a longer period - and at £25, you'd want to - I can definitely report a good night's sleep. 

Perhaps it's the placebo effect but I also felt fairly energetic and fresh the next morning. If I was a serial insomniac, I'd definitely try it.   

Annabel Fenwick-Elliot, 28, from west London, can only get to sleep with the TV on and all her pets piled in the bed

Annabel Fenwick Elliot can only sleep well when she is surrounded by her beloved pets

As someone who (very willingly) sleeps with at least three dogs and cats in my bed every night, and always with a documentary playing in the background and my phone on my pillow, my sleeping arrangement is pretty noisy and frantic. 

Strangely, I find it much easier to nod off that way. My therapist has plenty to say about this.

So I was definitely intrigued by Max Richter’s concept, but also genuinely worried it would be too relaxing for my taste. Nevertheless, I abandoned all screens, cuddled up with the animals, and gave it a go. 

Annabel with her band of furry friends 

While it did take me a good half an hour longer than usual to drift off, I found the music itself to be gorgeous… a mellifluous medley of groaning cellos and ethereal singing which reminded me a little of a film score. 

When I looked Mr Richter up this morning, I found that he has indeed written music for over 50 films, so that makes sense.

I can’t say much about anything after the first 40 minutes because I didn’t wake up once throughout the night. 

I think I’ll stick to my tried-and-tested manic sleeping tactics going forward, but what I will definitely do is play this in the background while I work, simply because it sounds so beautiful.

Emily Hodgkin, 23, from London, has struggled to sleep in the past and usually falls asleep with the TV on

I have struggled to sleep in the past and am partial to over-the-counter sleeping tablets - on occasion - but usually I manage to drift off after a few episodes of something on Netflix.

I find the best tactic to fall asleep is to trick my brain by occupying it with something completely different in the hopes that unconsciousness takes me unawares.

Falling asleep in the absolute silence is almost impossible for me. Without at least the murmur of the radio my brain begins whirring and rebels against relaxation. 

But sleeping watching the TV has its drawbacks, especially with the dreaded blue light of the laptop screen, which has been used to keep people awake for jet lag treatment.

Emily Hodgkin fell asleep quickly but found the music woke her up and stopped her from falling back to sleep

The piano music quickly soothed Emily to sleep but woke her up later and was too loud and distracting 

This is why I’m optimistic that Max Richter’s eight-hour adult lullaby might be just the thing for me.

Settling into bed with my headphones on, the music - your typical relaxing piano type stuff - quickly draws me into a trance-like state. I dither on the edge of consciousness for a while.

The next thing I know, however, is waking with a start as a particularly bass-led track begins somewhere into Richter’s eight-hour long track listing. 

I focus on the music and suddenly I’m wide awake. At this point the music feels too loud, too distracting. It's giving me headache and my ears hurt thanks to my headphones.

It takes a little while but a few minutes after pulling them out of my ears I manage to drift off unaided.

Apparently music slower than your heart rate has a calming effect. I suspect it was this element of the 'adult lullaby' that made me fall asleep so quickly but I’m still not sold on the idea that the music helps you get a better night’s sleep once you've drifted off.

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