The White Noise Does Wonders For Your Brain

Mental HealthMarch 11, 2019

Do you know what the white noise is and how it is created? Have you heard of any other types of noise? This article will tell you some basic things about these terms and help you understand the actual benefits of this seemingly annoying sound.

What is the white noise?

The white noise sound is the sound you usually hear when you don’t have reception on your television. Is that familiar now? Or, for example, when there’s no signal on your radio. So, basically, this is a sound you would normally try to silence as quickly as possible. But don’t do it! Did you know that many people at this moment actually seek out the best quality white noise? Unbelievable, right? Well, there is a whole industry built around the white noise machines.

The term the ‘white noise’ got its name from the ‘white light’ (all colors combined together). Similarly, the white noise is a combination of all the different frequencies of sound we’re able to hear. So, that is the sound of all the frequencies between 20 and 20,000 HZ.

The sound of rain, wind, waterfalls or oceans is the white sound. So many different tones are created by nature which are similar to the white noise from a television, radio or that which is created in some studio.

There is also the pink noise! It is a deeper variation of white noise with less of a high-pitched hissing.

And what about the brown noise? Well, it sounds even deeper than the pink noise. It is like rushing water of a waterfall. Have you heard that this water noise can make you lose your bowel control? Well, it is actually a myth! There were many experiments made by real scientists showing that there is no ‘one frequency’ that works on all people. Some people could react to the resonance of some specific frequencies, but there is no one noise/sound which could make masses of people run for the toilet at the same time.

What’s the white noise used for?

It helps in better sleeping

The white noise is perfect for light sleepers who are easily kept awake by some external sounds. Listening to white/pink/brown noise at night blocks out these distracting sounds. Those might be the sound of traffic, a television that someone is watching, or something similar.

How does it work? Well, the white noise contains all the audible frequencies and our ears are overloaded with sound while listening to it. So, they are not able to pick out the other sounds that would normally disturb us. You have to bear in mind that the white noise has to be loud enough for this to happen. If not loud enough, it will only help mask other sounds, but not hide them thoroughly.

It relaxes babies to sleep better

Parents know that babies are easily woken up by sudden sounds. However, the white noise help to drown out these sounds and makes babies sleep longer and without constant waking-ups.

After spending much time in the mother’s womb, babies are already accustomed to listening to constant white noise. It is believed that the white noise is similar to the sounds in the mother’s womb.

It helps you concentrate

Try listening to the white/pink/brown noise while reading or writing. You will find it very effective and you’ll become accustomed to the sound. Afterward, as soon as you play it on, you will feel focused.

On the other hand, some studies have shown that constant listening to the white noise can have a negative impact on our performance, stress levels, and memory. Other studies have shown that the concentration of children with attention difficulties, in some situations, becomes higher but also the performance of children who don’t have attention problems becomes lower. Therefore, be careful with the usage of the white noise!

The sources of the best white/pink/brown noise

There are many different sources of the white noise, but probably the easiest way is to just turn the TV to an un-tuned channel, or the radio to a frequency with no signal.

The white noise can be made by your home appliances -washing machine, hair dryer, blender, or similar ones. There are also many CDs/MP3s with high-quality recordings, and of course countless white sound youtube videos.

If you’re kept awake at night by the annoying noise you can’t prevent, playing some white noise can be an effective way to mask external sources and relax. You should definitely try it out sometimes, but not do it too often or for too long.