Pink noise may be bad for sleep quality, new research finds (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 4 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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The ambient sound has been compared to rain and ocean waves.

Pink noise, a staticky sound that’s supposed to help people fall asleep, may actually worsen your rest, a new study found.

Pink noise — like white noise — contains all the frequencies humans can hear, but it plays lower frequencies more prominently. Sounds that are used for different types of brain stimulation or relaxation are assigned a color based on how their noise spectrum matches with a colored light spectrum. White noise plays all frequencies at the same intensity, and white light combines all the visible light colors.

Pink noise has been compared to sounds of rain and ocean waves. Research on its benefits for memory and sleep has been mixed.

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[-] Elting@piefed.social 8 points 4 days ago

Just anecdotally as someone who always sleeps with a noise maker, the quality of sleep I get always goes up when I don’t have it. Your brain likes to sleep in the quiet so you can still hear things in the background.

[-] StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago

Okay so anecdotally for me I have very bad ADHD, if I don't have some noise I get VERY loud thoughts nonstop like sections of some songs on repeat for hours straight. For people like me pink noise or stories are the only things that calm my brain down

[-] bran_buckler@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

I live in a city and have been using a noise machine for years because it helps drown out traffic noise (especially for things like garbage trucks that might bang in the alley in the early morning), and drowns out the neighbors in the apartments above and below me. I found over the years that incidental noises would ruin my sleep otherwise.

[-] Elting@piefed.social 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yeah that’s why I use mine. I get to sleep faster with it. But if someone has access to a silent place to sleep then I think they would be better off without one. You sleep better when you can hear but I think that’s just because your brain knows nobody is sneaking on you.

this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026

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