Some people are lucky enough to be able to sleep even in the middle of a noisy party, but most of us struggle to fall asleep even when we hear the ambient sound of neighborhood, like the barking of our neighbor dog, for example.
This could be also the case with our kids sleeping difficulties. Then, maybe it’s time to give it a try to white noise.
What is white noise actually?
In technical terms white noise can be described as noise whose amplitude is constant throughout the audible frequency range. White noise helps you relax and masks distracting noises to help you get a night of deep sleep. It also helps soothe a crying infant and provides relief from tinnitus. When used to promote healthy sleep, white noise helps to drown out sounds which might otherwise prevent you from either falling asleep or waking up whilst asleep.
It turns out there is a reason that white noise machines can help you fall asleep, and stay asleep. And it's not just because they mask other surroundings noises.
In a story for Spirit Magazine, one neurologist explains what goes on in your brain that makes white noise machines invaluable to a sound night of sleep:
“Dr. Ralph Pascualy is the medical director of Northwest Hospital Sleep Center in Seattle. He explained to me that the brain naturally craves sensory input. That's why people in sensory deprivation tanks hallucinate; robbed of any stimulus, the brain creates its own. During sleep in a quiet night, any random noise, whether a passing truck or a creaking floorboard, is likely to activate the restless brain, waking you up. Constant white noise, he told me, "gives the brain a tonic signal that dampens its own internal systems”.
There may be a million reasons why kids have difficulties sleeping, but this white noise sound will help a child to fall asleep and stay sleeping. The calming sound blocks out noisy distractions and provides a safe and soothing environment for continuous sleep. It's 10 hours long so it will last all night, unlike a CD.
Babies, for example, love white noise. Let’s start with looking at it from baby’s perspective. They’ve just spent their entire life in the womb. And the womb is deafeningly loud. It is just slightly less loud than a lawnmower. Loud is normal to a baby. Life outside the womb is uncomfortably quiet. White noise sounds like “home” to a baby. Maybe it’s the same effect with the rest of us, because we have all unconscious memories about the most secure living environment.
Known for its calming properties, white noise is often used to soothe babies to sleep, help cram for exams, mask irritating background sounds and even distract sufferers from the symptoms of tinnitus.
Now research from running brand Saucony has revealed that listening to white noise on our headphones could even help us to exercise more efficiently.
“White noise can help you get into an almost meditative state, that state of flow when you are effortlessly moving through the world,” says Neuroscientist Ben Martynoga of the National Institute for Medical Research in London.
And while countless studies have shown that techniques such as mindful meditation, which teaches us to slow down and focus on the present, can be incredibly effective for relieving anxiety and depression, they can be tricky to master. White noise could be a way to get the benefits of meditation without the frustration and commitment.
Before choosing a white noise machine, we have to tell you also the cons’ about of the white noise machine. Some of them exceed the noise limits for babies, so be careful about the brand you choose. Also, there are voices saying that kids could become dependent to the noise machine to fall asleep. Finally, a subjective con - not everybody (babies or adults) like the white noise, so don’t insist if your kid refuse it.