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Can you sleep better with a white noise machine ? We would like to pursue this question in this article.
Most people need an absolutely quiet bedroom for a good night’s sleep. Such a place of rest can be achieved in various ways, for example by soundproofing the bedroom , a soundproof curtain , or by soundproofing the wall from the neighbor .
Sometimes, despite all the measures taken, disturbing noises can still be heard in the bedroom that prevent you from falling asleep. White noise, also known as white noise , helps some people in such cases .
Don’t you have enough time to read through the entire text and are you looking for a good white noise machine?➔ Then take a look at the LectroFan White Noise machine on Amazon. *
What is white noise?
White noise is a noise that is heavily accentuated and is often described as shrill, bright and cutting.
This noise was given the name “white noise” in analogy to white light, in which various optical frequency components are superimposed to form a white color impression.
So white light covers all the colors we can see, while white noise includes all frequencies as we can hear.
How does white noise work?
And is this noise supposed to help us fall asleep? But why?
There are several theses about how white noise should work. According to one thesis, the ears should become more and more sensitive, the calmer the environment.
You always notice this yourself when you lie in bed almost completely quiet in the evening and even the smallest noises are annoying. For example, the noises made by the tenant above, or the neighbors flushing the toilet. Sometimes just a drop from the tap is enough.
During the day, if the noise level was significantly higher, these noises would usually have been ignored or not even heard. But in a quieter environment, these noises are suddenly very annoying and prevent you from falling asleep.
The white noise is supposed to help raise your own hearing threshold a little bit, so that these noises – similar to during the day – should no longer have a disruptive effect. At least that’s the thesis.
What does white noise sound like?
Think of the following situation: You are comfortably watching TV and suddenly the sound transmission interrupts and is replaced by a loud, nasty noise.
Do you know the sound This is what white noise sounds like. Here is an audio sample of white noise on Wikipedia.
You can hear a slightly different sounding white noise in the following video, which has a running time of no less than 24 hours. So you can use it for an entire day and night without interruption.
However, you don’t have to listen to the white noise that long 😉
White noise or rather natural sounds
But it doesn’t always have to be the colored noise, which is supposed to block out disturbing noises and help us fall asleep. Some people also use other “monotonous” noises that sound more pleasant and relaxing.
For example, noises such as the patter of rain, the rustling of a fan or a ventilator, the sound of the sea, the noise of driving a car on the motorway, the noise of driving a train, the noise of a campfire, or the noise of the whistling wind.
You can also find some of these noises in the Noisli tool , which we have already presented here.
Of course, this background noise is not white noise, which is physically explained as a noise with a constant power density spectrum in a certain frequency range.
But in the end it doesn’t matter. All measures that help to minimize disturbing noises are of course welcome. Everyone thinks differently and it is definitely worth experimenting a little with such background noises until you have found the most suitable one.
White noise, pink noise, or brown noise?
It is interesting that in addition to the already discussed white noise, there is also pink and brown noise. But what are the differences?
Besides the differences from a scientific point of view, we are mainly interested in the differences in sound.
We would describe the differences as follows:
| description | sound |
|---|---|
| White noise | shrill, bright, cutting |
| Pink noise | less shrill, gentler, milder |
| Red (brown) noise | deeper, darker |
Hear white noise via the app
As you can see from the video above, you can easily listen to White Noise for free. In addition to this, there are also other videos that play this monotonous noise.
However, many people nowadays prefer suitable apps for the smartphone. This is also not a problem, as there are several white noise apps for both iOS and Android.
For example, the White Noise Lite app , which comes with many different sounds to help you sleep better:
White Noise Machine (white noise device) to fall asleep
If you want to use white noise to help you fall asleep better in the bedroom, you want it to be as easy as possible. A white noise YouTube video is certainly not the best solution here.
In this case, a white noise machine might be more practical . Such a white noise device is a small device, similar to a clock radio, that you can simply put on the bedside table.
The advantages of such a solution are clearly the very simple operation and the fact that you don’t have to use a smartphone or tablet. Simply press the button and off you go.
White noise machine in the test
If you look for a white noise machine test, you will notice that you will hardly find any German-language test reports, but mainly detailed reviews and tests from large American test portals.
That could mean that white noise machines are much more popular in the USA than they are in Germany.
If you take a closer look at these reviews, a device is mentioned again and again that is also available on the German market. This is the White Noise machine from LectroFan, which has also been named test winner several times.
This device comes with a large, upward-facing loudspeaker, 10 different white noise sounds, 10 different fan noises and a practical sleep timer. Even in the dark, the device should still be easy to use.
White noise for babies
White noise is a popular topic, especially with parents of small babies. The manufacturer LectroFan states that many of their customers would report that they would use the white noise machine in their baby’s or toddler’s room to suppress disturbing noises and to create a peaceful environment.
However, if you want to calm your child with white noise, you should make sure that the device is not set too loud.
Does white noise help with tinnitus?
Those who suffer from tinnitus hear noises in their ears that usually only they can perceive. An external sound source cannot usually be assigned to these noises in the ear.
Especially in the evening in bed, when it has become very quiet in the environment, many are particularly tormented by the ringing in the ears. Falling asleep can now be difficult.
We do not know whether white noise can also help here. If you search Google specifically for a search term such as “white noise against tinnitus”, you will find many different articles on the topic.
For all those who suffer from tinnitus, it could be interesting to take a closer look at this topic.
Conclusion
The ideal case is of course an absolutely quiet bedroom without any disturbance. In such a room we can relax and calm down quickly.
Unfortunately, this ideal case is not always feasible, even with the best will. There are acoustic disturbances that simply cannot be switched off.
Under certain circumstances, a white noise machine can help to make the annoying noises more bearable. It’s definitely worth a try.
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