A social psychiatry study conducted in 2018 showed that 60% of Syrian children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. But a more recent study done in Idleb in 2021 showed that things are worsening with 100% of displaced children showing symptoms of PTSD.

STUCK IN THE SLEEP-STRESS CYCLE

Sleep disturbances are present among 63-90% of people with PTSD. Traumatized children are stuck in an unending cycle of sleep disorder caused by continuous exposure to stress, which is pushing their brain to be hypervigilant during the day and then restless at night.

Figure 1: The sleep-stress cycle in the development of PTSD

Helping children to break the sleep-stress cycle is vital for their healing and for helping them take the first step towards wellbeing. So, we chose our own weapon of peace: Lullabies

From the moment children started getting scared of the dark, lullabies have existed thanks to their special hypnotic quality.

Extensive research in neuroscience and music therapy, including studies from Harvard, demonstrates that children respond exceptionally well to lullabies. These melodies induce relaxation, lowering heart rate, reducing pupil dilation, and calming electrodermal activity.

Connie Bainbridge, a leading researcher at Harvard's Music Lab, noted that while music in general is relaxing, lullabies hold a special power. Leveraging this knowledge, we aimed to care for Syrian children through the simple yet profound influence of lullabies.

The beautiful truth:

All it takes is the simple power of lullabies to sooth, relax and help children overcome their darkest days.

Frequencies of Peace:

The world’s first lullaby created by neuroscientists to help children drown out the sound of war.

BRINGING THE LULLABY TO LIFE:

In partnership with neuroscientists at Spiritune, we crafted the world's first lullaby tailored to children affected by war. Drawing on scientific music principles such as gentle rhythm, simple melody, slow tempo, and repetition, we created "Close Your Eyes". Renowned Syrian singer-songwriter Ghaliaa Chaker lent her raspy yet soothing voice to this groundbreaking composition.

With guidance from the UNHCR, we devised a strategy to disseminate our lullaby to the most vulnerable children. We partnered with MelodyFM and ArabesqueFM, Syria’s two largest radio stations and dispatched volunteers across the biggest refugee camps with loudspeakers, to diffuse our frequencies of peace to the most vulnerable.

We wanted to help children find sleep peacefully, so we broadcasted the lullaby as a daily ritual at 8pm, the start of night, a time when children’s anxiety peaks.

To amplify our reach, we also took our frequencies online. We made “Close your eyes” available to stream on Anghami, the biggest music streaming platform in the region, and even developed a dedicated web radio called Frequencies of peace FM that played the lullaby in a loop.

We further supported our campaign visibility through a campaign website, social ads, collateral assets that we displayed in our retail ecosystem over +700 screens, store entrances and cash-tills across +250 stores, 10,000 flyers and brochures, as well as our ecommerce site, promoting the UNHCR and bringing awareness about relief efforts.