What Is Pink Noise, And Can It Help You Sleep Better?
From using your Apple Watch to track your sleep habits to not using your phone before bed, there are many things you can do to improve your sleep hygiene. As you might already know, noise can also be a solution. While noise is probably one of the last things you want to hear when you're struggling to fall asleep, the right noise just might help. However, not just any noise will do. Noise comes in various colors, including blue, brown, and pink, with white noise being the most well-known among the bunch. While many people find white noise calming, pink noise is increasingly being recognized as a sound frequency with sleep benefits.
Pink noise is made up of a mix of high and low sound frequencies and has a smoother sound than white noise, which many consider easier to listen to than the static sounds that white noise produces. Like white noise, pink noise has all of the sound frequencies humans can hear. However, with pink noise, the highest frequencies are less intense, whereas with white noise, all of the frequencies are equal. Two examples of pink noise are the sound of rain falling or waves crashing into the beach. While there's no magic bullet for getting a good night's sleep, if you're having trouble falling asleep at night, pink noise might be worth trying.
The science behind pink noise and sleep
Although pink noise has gone viral on TikTok, it's not just another social media fad — there's scientific evidence it can improve sleep quality. According to a study published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, research subjects exposed to pink noise experienced more stable and restful sleep than the control group. Pink noise seems to improve the synchronization of brain waves, especially those associated with deep sleep stages, reducing brain wave complexity and resulting in more stable and uninterrupted sleep patterns. Another study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that pink noise could improve memory in addition to helping older adults sleep more deeply. While these results are promising, the studies were small, and more research is needed to determine the full impact of pink noise on the sleep cycle.
In practice, pink noise works by covering up background sounds that might distract you as you attempt to go to sleep or wake you up during the night. For example, if your neighbor's dog barking or your partner's snoring tends to keep you up at night, listening to pink noise can help you block those things out. Instead of your mind focusing on disruptive sounds, it focuses on the constant hum of the pink noise playing as you sleep. With regular use, you may even find yourself associating pink noise with going to sleep, which could help you relax and fall asleep faster.
How to play pink noise on your Apple device
If you decide you want to use pink noise as a sleep aid, there are a variety of apps available for Apple devices that make it easy to do. Before you start playing pink noise on your device, you should work on creating the best environment for sleeping. You might want to stop sleeping with your TV on if that's something you do for the best success with pink noise. The easiest way to play pink noise on your iPhone or iPad is by using its built-in noise generator.
Follow these steps to play pink noise with your Apple device's noise generator:
- Tap the Settings icon (gearshift) on the Home Screen.
- Scroll down, then tap Accessibility.
- Scroll down and tap Audio & Visual.
- Tap Background Sounds.
- Toggle the Background Sounds button to on.
- Tap Sound, then select the sound you'd like to play in the background.
While the iPhone doesn't have a specific pink noise setting, there are six sound options: balanced noise, bright noise, dark noise, ocean, rain, and stream. The ocean, rain, and stream sounds would be considered pink noise. If you want more customization options than what iPhone's built-in noise generator offers, there are also quite a few highly rated apps in the Apple Store you can choose from, including the free Noise Generator: Full Spectrum, which features brown, pink, white, blue, and violet noise plus the ability to use low and high cut filters for further personalization.
How to play pink noise on your Android device
Android devices also have a built-in tool featuring calming sounds to help you rest better at night. You can find it in your phone's clock app under Bedtime. With Android, you have the option of recording a sound or adding additional sounds from YouTube Music or Spotify if the defaults included with the app don't meet your needs.
Follow these steps to play pink noise on Android:
- Open the clock app.
- Tap Bedtime in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
- Scroll down to Sleep songs and tap Choose another sound.
- Select waves, deep space, or contemplation.
As an alternative, there are several apps available for playing pink noise on Android. If you're looking for an app with a simple, user-friendly interface, Noise: Brown, Pink, White is an excellent free choice. All you have to do is tap a button to change the color of the noise and press play. Another option is the White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds app, which includes a pink noise option in addition to the standard white option. This app allows you to mix sounds together to create a custom blend just for you and is free to use.