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Sleep sounds: white, pink and brown noise, rain, waves and more

White noise is flat and hissy; pink falls 3 dB per octave and sounds like steady rain; brown falls 6 dB and rumbles like surf. The research on sound and sleep is modest — small studies, mixed results — but steady sound reliably masks the unpredictable kind.

Updated October 3, 2026 · Messineo 2017 · Papalambros 2017 · Riedy 2021

How the three noise colors differ
31631252505001k2k4k8k16k0-20-40-60White noisePink noiseBrown noisedB (relative) · frequency in Hz →

Definitions adapted from Wikipedia "Colors of noise", CC BY-SA 4.0

Noise colors

0 dB per octaveWhite noise · masking sudden sounds (traffic, neighbours)-3 dB per octavePink noise · steady background for sleep; studied for deep-sleep enhancement-6 dB per octaveBrown noise · popular for focus and for people who find white noise harsh

Natural scenes (in the app)

Rainy DayRainy day, Little rain, Forest rain, Thunderstorm · closest to pink noiseFireFire crackle, Burning wood, Wet wood, Rain by the fire · closest to brown noiseBeachLazy waves, Evening waves, Ocean birds, Walking birds · closest to brown noiseForestAtmosphere, Singing birds, Noisy birds, Rainy trees · closest to pink noiseUnderwaterNight ocean, Underwater echo, Diver, Whale · closest to brown noise

Sources

  1. Colors of noise — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
  2. Broadband Sound Administration Improves Sleep Onset Latency in Healthy Subjects in a Model of Sleep Onset Insomnia — Frontiers in Neurology 8:718, 2017 (Messineo L. et al.)
  3. Acoustic Enhancement of Sleep Slow Oscillations and Concomitant Memory Improvement in Older Adults — Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 11:109, 2017 (Papalambros N.A. et al.)
  4. Noise as a sleep aid: A systematic review — Sleep Medicine Reviews 55:101385, 2021 (Riedy S.M. et al.)

General information from population studies (NIH, CDC, NSF, AASM). It is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician who knows you.