Using ambient sound for sleep
Plenty of people fall asleep to rain, a fan or steady noise. It can make a quiet room feel less empty, and it covers the sudden sounds that wake you, like a car door or a barking dog. Here is how to set it up well, and an honest look at the evidence.
Why it can help
What wakes you is usually not how loud a room is, but changes: a sound that suddenly starts or stands out from the background. A steady sound raises that background, so the same car door stands out less. That is why the sound should be steady and unchanging rather than interesting.
What the research says
The evidence is weaker than many websites claim. A 2021 systematic review of studies on continuous noise as a sleep aid rated the evidence that it improves sleep as very low quality, and called for better studies (Riedy and colleagues, Sleep Medicine Reviews). That doesn't mean it won't work for you, only that nobody should promise it will.
You may also read that pink noise improves deep sleep and memory. Those findings come from lab studies that played short bursts of sound timed to the sleeper's brain waves (for example Ngo and colleagues, Neuron, 2013), not from leaving pink noise playing all night. A plain background sound, from AmbienceMix or anywhere else, is not the same thing.
How loud?
- As quiet as still does the job. Turn it up just until the sounds that bother you blend in, then stop.
- Don't play it loud right next to your head. Hearing damage depends on how loud a sound is and how long it lasts, and a whole night is a long time. Workplace guidance such as the US NIOSH limit puts the risk point at 85 decibels over 8 hours. Background sound for sleep should be far below that.
- If you can, put the phone or speaker across the room rather than on the pillow.
All night, or a timer?
Both are fine. If the sound is only there to help you drift off, use the sleep timer under the player. It fades out gently over the last 30 seconds, so a sudden silence doesn't wake you. If outside noise keeps waking you during the night, leave it on at a low volume instead.
Which sounds to try
- Rain or a fan: steady and familiar, a good first try.
- Brown noise or an airplane cabin: deep, for covering traffic or a snoring partner.
- Pink noise: softer than white noise, if you want plain noise.
- A fireplace or a thunderstorm: cosy, but with more pops and rumbles. Turn the crackle or thunder down if it keeps you alert.
Using your phone
AmbienceMix keeps playing when your phone is locked or the browser is in the background. You can also install it with the button at the top of the page, so it opens like an app and works offline. Turn the screen brightness down, or use full screen with Calm mode on, to keep the light down.
When to see a doctor
Background sound can help with a noisy room. It is not a treatment for insomnia, sleep apnoea or other sleep problems. If you often struggle to sleep, or wake up tired however long you sleep, talk to a doctor.
Sources
- Riedy, S. M., Smith, M. G., Rocha, S. and Basner, M. (2021). Noise as a sleep aid: a systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 55. doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101385
- Ngo, H.-V. V., Martinetz, T., Born, J. and Mölle, M. (2013). Auditory closed-loop stimulation of the sleep slow oscillation enhances memory. Neuron, 78(3). doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.03.006
- NIOSH (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): noise and hearing loss. cdc.gov/niosh/noise