If you dislike loud noises that interrupt your sleep, you may want to consider a noise machine. It sounds counterintuitive, but a noise machine can generate a steady color noise that helps block out these unwanted sounds.
White noise is the best known, and machines that make it have been on the market for decades. But that’s not the only noise that can help you sleep. Let’s dig into the types of noise, what they sound like and how to figure out which is best for your needs.
Read more: Best White Noise Machines
What’s a sound wave, anyway?
All the different “colors” of noise resonate with different amplitudes at different frequencies. They can all help you sleep, but it’s worth experimenting with the different sounds.
OK, let’s dig into a bit of science. You can deconstruct sound waves into two components:
- Frequency, which refers to how quickly the wave vibrates per second and is measured in hertz. (Any distant memories of high school science coming back yet?) One hertz equals one vibration per second.
- Amplitude, also called power, which refers to the size of the waves. This is usually measured in decibels, a measure of the volume or intensity of sound.
All the different colors of sound vibrate at different frequencies, and their names are loosely analogous to the colors of light. For example, white noise emits all of the frequencies audible to human ears, just like white light contains all of the colors of light visible to the human eye.
Don’t confuse the colors of sound with ambient noise, which refers to the background noise present in any given setting; for instance, the rumble of a train mixed with passenger chatter, or the rustle of leaves in the wind mixed with the chirping of birds.
The colors of sound are continuous, unchanging signals at a particular frequency and amplitude.
Why should you use noise to sleep?
We’ve talked about what sound waves are, now let’s establish why they can help you sleep.
- It drowns out other sounds: Generally, it’s not sound itself that wakes us up or keeps us from falling asleep in the first place. Rather, the harsh changes in sound wake us up — think of a slamming door, a barking dog or a crack of lightning. That’s where sleep sounds come in. By filling our bedrooms with a constant sound, we can muffle those outside distractions and create a more soothing environment.
- It helps you relax and focus on sleep: For many people, the reason they can’t fall asleep at night is that they can’t get their mind to “turn off.” With everyday worries, anxiety and a never-ending to-do list, relaxing enough to fall asleep at night can be difficult. Sleeping with noises, such as brown noise, will help you focus on the sound and allow it to ease you to sleep.
The Dreamweaver is a new product from Honeywell that combines an oscillating fan and pink noise for ultimate snoozing.
Brown noise for sleep
Think of brown noise like a deeper version of pink noise, with even more bass tones and low-frequency concentrated energy. It sounds dampened compared to white noise, but somehow stronger, comparable to hard ocean surf during a storm or the rumble of a brass instrument humming a low note.
Unlike the other sounds, brown noise isn’t named after the actual color brown. Instead, brown noise gets its name from its similarity to Brownian motion, the random and speedy movement of particles in liquid.
Brown noise is best for: People who live in loud places or struggle to clear their minds at night.
Try it: The LectroFan Classic has 10 variations of noise, encompassing white, pink and brown. You can also find brown noise on most sleep sound apps.
