Scott Evans swears by using white noise to soothe his young children to sleep. Shortly after the birth of his four-year-old son Daniel, Evans started the practice and now the sounds, which he says he most likely stumbled across first on TikTok, are “on repeat” at night in both Daniel’s bedroom and beside his infant daughter who is “just over one”.
“Once we found something that works, we didn’t want to think over it too much.”
You might be familiar with the static hum of white noise, but did you know there’s a whole spectrum of coloured noises on the market that people are using to catch their daily dose of shut eye?
From the deep and rumbling brown noise to higher frequencies and pitches, you can unlock the entire rainbow with the variety of sounds at your fingertips online. One simple search on YouTube or Spotify and infinite playlists pop up – pink, green and blue – you name it, the choice is there. But what is the difference and, more importantly, do they work?
While the classic white noise can be likened to the whirring of a fan, TV static or a vacuum’s hum, pink and brown noises are lower pitched and more natural – think light rain and a gentle breeze versus a thunderstorm. Similarly, green noise sounds like wind or leaves rustling, whereas blue noise produces a higher pitched hiss or whistle.
Calling them “a symptom of an overstimulated nervous system, demanding lives and expectations and a digitally obsessed culture”, health scientist and sleep expert Tom Coleman says that although data on usage is scant in Ireland, coloured noises “have become extremely popular in helping people transition into sleep”.
“I believe it is masking a deeper problem,” Coleman voices his concern at the trend, adding that “people should learn to down-regulate their minds and emotions by making more space for activities that promote contentment rather than stimulating ones”.
For Evans, coloured noise “signals a change from awake time to sleep time, so it’s a helpful marker in the mind of a child that we’re moving to sleep time”.
“It also helps cover other ambient noises, which for us was a really big deal because the stairs were creaky; if you put on the shower it would wake them up.
“I don’t know about the effectiveness of the actual white noise,” says Evans, “but the process of having something different that signifies he [Daniel] needs to sleep was really helpful for us.”
His only concern is that a random song or podcast might accidentally disrupt any Zen created by the white noise: “As long as you’ve got the tech right it works a dream. You just try not to blast the wrong song at the wrong time.”
As for when Evans and his wife plan on weaning their children off coloured noise, “It’ll be whenever they feel like it.
“I don’t think they’re dependent on it ... I think they’d probably sleep fine without it. So we’ll just see when the natural end point is.”
Coleman urges caution around using the sounds for babies and younger children: “Keep volumes at a safe level and choose more natural sounds [pink noise] rather than harsher ones. I would try a host of sounds and sometimes varying what you use can help.
“Sleep experts are somewhat divided on whether it is helpful or even healthy,” says Coleman, confirming that it is still unclear whether coloured noise is “helping you sleep or just blocking out other noises or the noise of your mind”.
“There have been studies showing it can help with sleep quality and often pink or white noise can mimic what the unborn child was hearing in the womb. However, the American Academy of Paediatrics [AAP] recommends keeping white noise machines at a distance of at least seven feet [two metres] from the crib and limiting the sound level to below 50 decibels [about the level of a quiet conversation].”
Pointing to further scientific research in the area, Coleman highlights that the effects of white noise have been studied for many years, “finding evidence it can reduce crying in infants, improve work performance, and potentially help counteract symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] through a proposed phenomenon called stochastic resonance”.
Contradictory to its widespread use, “a 2021 systemic review found the quality of evidence for continuous noise improving sleep was very low”, he says. While acknowledging that “more studies with objective sleep measures are required”, Coleman shared his recommendations for people who use white or other coloured noises as sleep aids: “Use what you find works best for you ... The health concern with any of this is an overstimulation of the auditory system. Set a timer on your device to switch off after 30 minutes to avoid any overstimulation.”
Ella McKee started using a variety of coloured noises to help her focus when studying and has now swapped “podcasts and sleep stories” for coloured noise at night.
“I find that it kind of switches off my brain and stops me overthinking when I’m trying to get to sleep. My friend actually recommended I try this because it worked for her. Sometimes I also listen to storm sounds or rain sounds and that really works too.
“I wrote my whole dissertation with green noise in the background as opposed to music. It definitely helped me block out distractions and get more work done because it creates almost like a blanket of noise in the background that’s consistent so your brain can focus on what you actually need to do.”
White noise is also the go-to for McKee when she wants to get to sleep but says “this can get a bit repetitive if you’re listening to it for long hours”. She recommends people interested in trying out coloured noise listen to a variety – “pink noise, green noise, brown noise, there are Spotify playlists for all of these and so many others, like deep noise or yellow noise” – until they find what they prefer.
“They’re all slightly different frequencies and some work better for people than others. Green noise has rain or water sounds in the background.”
According to Coleman, choosing the right noise for you “ultimately depends on individual needs, preferences and environmental conditions” but “pink noise appears to stand out in research for its potential to improve both sleep quality and cognitive performance through its effect on deep sleep”.
White noise, on the other hand, “is better suited for noise masking and for individuals struggling to fall asleep due to environmental distractions” while the lesser researched brown noise “may be preferred by those who enjoy bass-heavy, soothing soundscapes”.
McKee says she relies on coloured noise to drift off: “I’m the type of person that always needs something on in the background. I find it really relaxing but I know some people find it to be the opposite. I can’t really get to sleep without it now so maybe that’s not the best thing,” she adds.
Caitlin Parnell is a big advocate for brown noise, describing it as “a bit more like a low ambience or hum, which I love”.
“Even compared to other coloured noises I find it to be the most relaxing, it just hits the right frequency for me,” she adds.
Parnell’s journey towards using brown noise started with a love for ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) “I’ve always liked to have some noise on in the background when I’m trying to sleep. I am a long-time ASMR fan but sometimes I find there’s too much going on in those videos to actually sleep to ...”
After falling down a YouTube rabbit hole, she stumbled across a brown noise video. “I remember thinking this must just be the Tiktokification of white noise, because you see people giving names to the most random things on there.
“When I clicked the video I had recommendations for all the different coloured noises beneath it and I looked through them all and realised they were actually all different. Anyway, I decided that brown noise was definitely the winner and I listen to it often.”
Although somewhat sceptical of their benefits, Coleman suggests that listening to coloured noise – whether white, pink or brown – can be done safely as long as “you have volumes set at the correct levels and not playing constantly”.
“I would encourage people to retrain their busy racing minds with techniques like visualisation or relaxation. The same systems that control stress also control sleep so getting a handle on your demanding lives will also work wonders for your sleep.”
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