My name is Bryan Wisda.  In 2014 I decided to sell my financial planning practice to become a Deputy Sheriff, my dream job.  Then in 2016, while conducting a traffic stop on a suspected DUI motorist I was shot in the line of duty.  My wife suggested I learn to play the guitar while I was recovering rather play videos games all day for several months.  I started playing the guitar and took some lessons and was hooked. Since I have been an obsessive student of the guitar and music theory.

Our oldest son, Cale, who is now 11 has ADHD.  Each morning he takes a stimulant medication to help him with his ADHD and get him through the day successfully.  The medication he takes is nothing like the medications kids in the 1980s and 1990s took for ADHD which turned them into zombies.  The medication uses a time release and it works phenomenally well — he is a happy boy and successful student.

A side effect of this stimulant medication causes Cale, and millions of other children who use these medications, to have trouble getting to sleep at night.  This is caused by a homeostasis imbalance in their body as a result of taking the medication (read my Blog post on why this occurs here).

Because Cale has a hard time getting to sleep at night and will get out of bed every chance he has (sip of water, snack, play legos, etc.) my wife or I would stay in his room until he fell asleep.  It was not uncommon for this to be a 1, 2, or 3 hour event every night!

During some of the nights I would stay in Cale’s room waiting for him to fall asleep I took in my guitar and played the guitar for him.  I would play basic songs like Brahm’s Lullaby as well as practice scale patterns. In time I noticed a unique phenomenon — Cale would fall asleep faster when I played random notes in those scale patterns (not straight up and down the scale but jumping around if you will) versus when I played a song.  This was the start of ADHD Lullaby™.

After noticing Cale would fall asleep faster to random notes (in the same key) I started doing research to understand why this worked.  I read countless scientific journals in the fields of Audiology, Music Therapy, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry related to sleep and children with ADHD.

By early summer 2018, just 2 years after being shot and beginning to play the guitar, I had perfected a method of recording music using principles from neuroscience which helped put Cale to sleep fast.  I shared these initial recordings with some friends who also had children with ADHD who reported back to me similar results with their children. By the end of the summer of 2018 I was committed to publishing an album parents of ADHD children could use to help their children fall asleep.

Cale’s Lullaby, the first song I perfected for Cale to help him sleep, I released in November 2018 and the full albumADHD Lullaby™ was released in February 2019.  The album is available worldwide on all digital music platforms and available for purchase as a physical CD through this website, Amazon.com, and CD Baby. International orders for physical CDs can be purchased through this website or CD Baby.

ADHD Lullaby™ is not just an album of calming music — it is a revolutionary advancement in the functional use of sound, using principles from neuroscience, to help children with ADHD fall asleep faster.

Everything within the album has a purpose — the arraignment of the songs, the use of musical tension, the song’s key (or root note), each song’s tempo, moods, as well as both rhythmic and non-rhythmic components all serve a specific purpose.  The album is designed to be played in order. Do not play the album in shuffle mode as it will not work as intended.

This album is intended for children; the ideal age range is 6-13.  This is because the average sleeping heart rate of a child is much faster than an adult’s.  Children younger than age 6 will have faster sleeping heart rates with infants having extremely fast sleeping heart rates.  If you, or your child, do not fall into this age range of 6-13 you will likely not fall asleep as fast as the album is intended.  You will likely find the album calming.

Best Practices (Digital or Streaming)

If you are listening toADHD Lullaby™ on an electronic device through a digital music service the suggested best practice is to play the album from start to finish regardless if your child falls asleep on the 1st song or 15th.  Once the album has completed playing play songs 10-15 on repeat throughout the night.  You can do this by creating a personal playlist in your device. Alternately if you subscribe to Apple Music or Spotify you can search for the playlist ADHD Lullaby – Sustained Sleep (Apple Music link / Spotify link).

Best Practices (Compact Disc)

If you are listening to ADHD Lullaby on Compact Disc the suggested best practice is to play the album from start to finish regardless of when your child falls asleep.  Once your child falls asleep play any song (from songs 10-15) on repeat throughout the night.

Headphone & Stereo Recommendations

If your child will wear headphones and listen toADHD Lullaby™ this is ideal.  This is because some of the frequencies embedded in the music are isolated in each ear — it also sounds better as certain musical elements are panned to either the left or right.  If headphones are not available, the child won’t wear them, or the child won’t fall asleep with headphones on there is only a slight loss of effect.

Second to headphones, a stereo system is preferred to a single (mono) speaker playing device.  A stereo system will generally have a left and right speaker. When placing the speakers for optimal use try to place the speaker so the speakers flank the the bed rather than both speakers being on only one side.  This will help deliver the isolated frequencies to the proper ear and the music will be more pleasing.

When selecting headphones or speaker systems it is recommended you not select a system which adds bass of music it plays.  Many “popular” headphones and bluetooth speakers will add bass to the music.  The music inADHD Lullaby™ has already been equalized based on neuroscience — a speaker which adds bass will distort the embedded frequencies ofADHD Lullaby™ and potentially reduce the efficacy of the music.  The best (and usually best priced) headphones and speakers to use withADHD Lullaby™ are studio (professional recording) headphones and speakers.  You can buy a quality pair of studio headphones for $100 or less at any pro-audio store on the internet.