How to sleep better with noise, step by step
- Start with the default: a blend of pink and brown noise, softened slightly. It is a good middle ground for most people.
- If you still hear voices or a TV through the wall, add white noise or raise the pink slider. If low sounds such as traffic or bass are the problem, raise brown.
- Set the volume as low as possible while still covering the sounds that wake you. Lie down first, because sounds seem louder when you are still.
- Choose a timer: 30 to 60 minutes if you only need help falling asleep, or Off if noises wake you in the night.
- On a phone, turn on Keep screen on and turn brightness right down, or download the mix and play it on repeat from your music app.
Why noise helps you sleep
Your brain keeps monitoring sound while you sleep. What wakes you is rarely the loudness of a sound by itself; it is how much it stands out from the background. A door closing in a silent room is a huge change. The same door against steady noise is a small one, and often not enough to pull you out of sleep.
Steady noise raises that background, a process called masking. It also gives a busy mind something neutral to rest on, which many people find helps them stop listening for the next sound.
Research supports this, with caveats. Messineo and colleagues (Frontiers in Neurology, 2017) found broadband noise reduced the time to fall asleep by 38 percent in a noisy setting. A 2021 review of the field in Sleep Medicine Reviews (Riedy and colleagues) found the evidence promising but of low quality overall. Noise will not fix every sleep problem, but it is cheap, safe at low volume and worth trying.
Which sound is best for sleep?
| Problem | Try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Partner snoring | Pink + brown noise | Covers the low rumble and the higher rasp of snoring |
| Voices or TV through walls | Pink or white noise | Energy in the speech range blurs words |
| Traffic, trains, bass music | Brown noise | Strong low frequencies mask rumble |
| Racing thoughts | Rain or ocean waves | A gently changing sound gives the mind something to follow |
| Silence feels too quiet | Fan or soft pink noise | A familiar, constant hum |
| Tinnitus at night | Grey noise or a stream | Softens the contrast between ringing and silence |
Each of those has its own page: brown noise, pink noise, rain sounds, ocean sounds, fan noise and grey noise.
How loud should sleep noise be?
Quieter than most people think. A good target is around 40 to 50 decibels at your pillow, about the level of a quiet library or light rain. You should be able to talk over it easily. Several sleep researchers and hearing bodies advise keeping all-night sound well below 70 decibels. A free sound meter app on your phone gives a rough reading. Our guide on how loud white noise should be has more detail.
Tips that make a real difference
- Put the speaker across the room rather than next to your head. The sound becomes more even and you can use a lower volume.
- Use the same sound every night. It becomes part of your bedtime routine, a cue for your brain that it is time to sleep.
- Use Gentle swell if a perfectly steady sound feels artificial; the slow rise and fall resembles breathing.
- If silence later in the night wakes you, skip the timer. Noise that stops suddenly at 3 a.m. can itself be a disturbance, which is why our timer fades rather than cuts out.
- Read how to block out noise at night for snoring and neighbor problems that need more than a sound.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best noise color for sleep?
Pink and brown noise are the most popular for sleep because they are softer than white noise. White noise covers high sounds such as voices better. The best choice is the one you stop noticing quickest at a low volume.
Should I leave white noise on all night?
If noises wake you during the night, yes, at a low volume. If you only need help falling asleep, a 30 to 60 minute timer is enough. Both are fine for most adults.
Can you get dependent on white noise to sleep?
You can get used to it, in the way people get used to a fan or a familiar pillow, and sleeping without it may feel strange at first. That is a habit rather than a harm. A downloaded loop on your phone means you can take it anywhere.
Will the sound stop when my phone locks?
On iPhones browser audio usually pauses when the screen locks. Turn on Keep screen on with the brightness down, or download the mix and play it from the Music or Files app. Most Android phones keep playing.