Can noise help you sleep? Paradoxical as it may seem, white noise is growing in popularity for rest and relaxation. Experts say there’s a good reason for that.
In an interview with CBS News Friday, neurologist Dr. Geoffrey Ellenbogen, director of the research initiative Sound Sleep Project, said that white noise, brown noise, and even pink noise are all examples of “sound masking.” said it was.
“Sound masking is one of the tools in the large toolbox available for sleeping in noisy environments,” he said, noting that our brains respond positively to hearing these sounds, while others I explained that it might help mask the unpleasant noise.
“If there is noise around us while we are sleeping, it will really excite us…our brains are tuned to pay special attention to sudden changes in the environment because… , because they are a threat,” he says. He said. “What sound masking does is introduce a broad, gentle, coherent, slightly soft[sound]into the background so that the noise that’s still there can’t be fully picked up. That’s it.”
What is the difference between white noise, brown noise, and pink noise?
White, brown, and pink noise all have slightly different sounds.
“White noise has a kind of ‘whoosh’ sound,” says Ellenbogen. “Actually, a lot of people don’t love it.”
Brown noise removes some of the high frequency sounds and resembles more ocean waves, while pink noise can resemble the sound of raindrops while sitting in a tent.
Doesn’t this sound already calm you down? You’re not alone. Bloomberg reports that white noise podcasts account for three million hours of his daily consumption of content on Spotify. Listener interest was reportedly so high that the music-streaming service considered banning the podcast earlier this week after deciding that ditching it would add $38 million to annual gross profits.
You can also get the benefit of white, brown and pink noises like the sleep sound machine commonly used to drown out other sounds in the house to lull your baby to sleep.
In May, CBS News correspondent Susan Spencer spoke to psychologist Matthew Eben, whose study found that not only did people who used these machines sleep better overall, they also fell asleep faster. It has been shown.Mr. Spencer reported that noise caused him a third American adults don’t get enough sleep.
Ellenbogen suggests that if you want to try out sound masking, start with it.
“I encourage people to just listen to it,” he said. “Find something you love and think smart about how to implement it. Be curious and think smart about how to protect your sleep in a noisy environment.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-brown-pink-noise-help-sleep-neurologist/