Experts reveal the different noises that can help you sleep well
If you’re anything like, well everyone else on the planet, you sometimes have trouble sleeping. I dislike taking sleeping pills so I have figured out how to sleep well naturally. If I’m travelling, I take melatonin to help me avoid the effects of jet lag. But if I’m at home, I use sleep noises.
You may have heard of white noise before, or if you use TikTok or Instagram you may have seen users sharing their sleep hacks with brown, green or even blue noise. These sounds can benefit your sleep by blocking out bothersome noises and relaxing the mind with their constant, static-like tones.
Sonic sounds for a better night’s sleep
However, white noise isn’t the only sonic hue—pink, blue, grey, and brown all affect listeners in different ways. There is increasing evidence to support the sleep-inducing qualities of these sounds.
The great thing about noise to help you sleep is its accessibility. You can find all of these sounds for free online. There are specialist machines you can buy, however, these can be more costly. When you can use free sounds on your phone, it’s unnecessary to purchase anything else.
Sleep experts at Best mattress-brand have helped to clarify the colour confusion and advise anyone who may struggle to sleep, on the best noise to help them drift off.
How to sleep well naturally with different noises
White Noise
White noise is an audible sound frequency that can help you relax and encourage a good night’s sleep. In a recent study, adults fell asleep 38% faster while listening to white noise. Other recent studies have continued to find white noise positively affects sleep. That’s why it’s often recommended for sleeping difficulties and sleep disorders like insomnia.
Link to sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC8T7sqxUdU
Pink Noise
The problem with white noise is that all the frequencies come through at the same intensity. Pink noise attempts to solve this issue for people who find white noise too unpleasant by creating a louder low frequency with softer high ends. This makes it slightly smoother than white noise so it works well for those who find white noise to be too much.
Studies have shown that pink noise didn’t only aid people in getting to sleep but also had positive influences in supporting deep sleep and memory.
Link to sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHf6wmX5MU
Brown Noise
Brown noise has been at the forefront of online discussion recently, with sleep hacks such as this trending on TikTok with 84.3 million views for videos featuring the hashtag. It is a deeper and stronger tone. The lower frequencies can block out external noise while soothing the mind and making it easier for people to sleep.
There is a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that brown noise can help block out the internal monologue that many people experience, especially at night when we have no other distractions to keep our minds from wandering. If only our brains had an off switch, amiright?!
Link to sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqzGzwTY-6w&t=1s
Green Noise
Green noise is a variation of white noise in the middle of the spectrum. As the name insinuates, it utilizes similar sounds to those that you may hear in nature. This sound can help restore calm and promote relaxation.
It does this by providing a “sound mask” to other ideas, feelings, sensations, and sensory experiences. Because green noise is more pleasing it may be a more appealing choice than the typical white noise.
Much like brown noise, green has been taking social media by storm as a new TikTok sleep trend as many people share their positive experiences utilizing this for a better night’s sleep.
Link to sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngTTSLW3Uq8
Blue Noise
There are very few deep tones in blue noise to help balance its energy, which is primarily concentrated at the high-frequency end. It almost sounds like water spraying out of a hose nozzle. Blue noise performs a wonderful job of severely disguising outside noises if you’re not sensitive to high-pitched sounds.
Due to its high-pitched nature, if you have a canine companion that sleeps with you, it may bother them. You’ll have to test this out and see for yourself.
In comparison to its colour wheel counterparts, there has been little scientific research into the effectiveness of blue noise. However, that’s not to say it’s not worth trying it if some of the other sounds aren’t as useful.
Link to sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oab1IUbRnXY
I use my cell phone and the app Calm to listen to sleepytime sounds. If you use your phone, make sure you set the sleep timer so it goes off once you’re counting sheep. I once forgot and when my sounds were over it went on to the next ones. Unfortunately, they woke me up. Ugh!
A spokesperson from Bestmattress-brand commented: “One in five people struggle to get to sleep. A lack of sleep can have many negative impacts on mental and physical health. Coloured noises might be the trick to help you finally get a good night’s sleep. White noise is the most researched and popular however it may not be suited to many people, and thus this research highlights the other colours that you can try that may be more sleep-inducing than the typical white noise.
More ways how to sleep well naturally
Along with the noise it is recommended that people engage in healthy bedtime routines which can maximize the effectiveness of these sleep aids. Here are some things they recommend:
- Go to bed around the same time every night
- Avoid screens for 30 minutes before bed
- Eat good, healthy foods if you want a bedtime snack as heavy, deep-fried foods take much longer to digest, keeping you awake for longer
- Optimize your sleep space with dark blinds
- Wear a sleep mask when travelling or sleeping in brighter spaces
- Use a lavender room or pillow spray
- Take a natural sleep aid
Sleep is key to living a healthy life, and these small changes could help you get the sleep that your body and mind need.
We all know why sleep is so important so I hope these tips enable you to get a better night’s rest. In fact, sleep is so important that a new trend is popping up called Sleep Tourism where the primary goal of the vacation is to sleep well and to return home well-rested. Would you try it?
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