There are a number of reasons that white noise or other sounds may induce sleep. In 2016 researchers added pink noise to naps, and found that nappers who listened to the sounds forgot fewer words they were told to remember before their snooze.

It’s possible pink sound waves mimic brain waves during stage 3 “slow-wave” or deep sleep – the time when the body does the vast majority of long-term memory consolidation.Ī small 2013 study in Germany found pink noise prolonged deep sleep and improved memory. Pink noise has become popular because it’s the choice of a number of researchers who are experimenting with improving memory during sleep. Phyllis Zee, who directs the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Why don’t you just try them out to see which is relaxing for you?’” said Dr. “What I tell my patients is, ‘I really don’t know which is going to be better. Some claim it is the most soothing of the three. These sounds are supposedly more pleasant to the human ear – think of a steady rainfall or the rise and fall of the tide.īrown noise contains even more bass than pink noise, more like the rumble of strong winds, a rushing river or pounding surf. Some describe white noise as a hiss similar to a radio tuned to an unused frequency.Ī number of researchers have focused on a smoother, more refined version of white noise they call “pink sound.” Commonly called pink noise, it emphasizes more of the lower frequencies – in other words, it’s all about that bass. Poor sleep linked to weight gain in 2-year smartphone sleep tracking study “They create a blanket of sound around you that absorbs other sound waves so that little creaks and cracks and cars driving by don’t quite make it to your brain and you don’t respond to them,” Grandner said. “White noise machines work through a process called sound masking or noise masking,” said Michael Grandner, who directs the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Regardless, sleep experts often hear patients vouch for the success of a soft, soothing hum in helping them fall and stay asleep, especially if they are anxious, have insomnia or live in a noisy, urban setting. “The evidence that we have is inconclusive and very low quality at this point.” “It’s possible that they could be beneficial for sleep, and it’s also plausible that they could be detrimental for sleep,” Basner said. Mathias Basner, a professor in the division of sleep and chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who published a systematic review of research on noise as a sleep aid. “So many people are using it that the public health consequences of this are potentially ‘ginormous,’ yet right now we have little to no research on this,” said Dr. Whatever your pleasure, know this: While continuously listening to low decibel calming sounds at night doesn’t appear to be harmful, there also isn’t much science behind how, why – or even if – sound machines help sleep. 10 common mistakes in fighting 'coronasomnia' - the inability to fall and stay asleep

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