There's no standard for green noise
White, pink and brown noise are defined sounds, and you can measure whether a recording is one of them. Green noise isn't. No agreed specification exists, so one app's green noise and another's can sound quite different, and neither of them is wrong.
Ours is the soft wash this page plays: decent against voices, a television and a kitchen, and weak against a truck. Everything on this page describes that sound and nothing else.
What it actually covers in a house
The name arrives with a story attached about nature and calm. Nothing in the sound puts it there, and a color label can't make a noise natural. The plain reason it works is duller than the story. Most household sound sits at about the pitch of a human voice, and so does green noise.
So if a conversation through the wall is what wakes you, green noise has more to give than brown noise does, because it is loudest at the pitch your ear hunts for words in. It blurs the words rather than removing them, which is true of anything you could play. If the problem is a truck pulling away or a boiler at two, green noise has almost nothing that deep in it, and brown noise does.
Green or pink? Give both thirty seconds
Green and pink noise are close enough that plenty of people can't tell them apart. Pink has a little more rumble under it, green is a little brighter, and the gap is narrow. Open the pink noise preset in another tab, switch between the two at the same volume, and keep whichever one you stop noticing first.
If they sound the same to you, use pink. It's a defined sound, so what you read about it elsewhere will match what you hear, and it behaves the same way overnight.
Tonight
- Press play. It opens at half volume, which is a sensible place to start on a small speaker.
- Set the level with the television or the kitchen actually going, not in an empty house.
- Open the pink noise preset in another tab and switch between them at the same volume. Keep whichever one makes the room disappear faster.
- The timer starts on All night, which runs eight hours. Tap 30 min or 60 min if the house goes quiet once everyone is in bed.
Frequently asked questions
What is green noise?
A soft, steady wash that sits at about the pitch of voices and everyday household sound, with no agreed definition behind the name. Ours is decent against voices, a television and kitchen clatter, and weak against traffic. Another app's green noise will sound different, because nothing specifies what it should be.
Is green noise better than pink noise for sleep?
Green is slightly brighter and pink has a little more rumble under it, so green helps a little more with voices and a little less with a truck outside. The difference is small enough that many people can't hear it, and in that case pink is the safer pick, because it's a defined sound.
Is there a free green noise generator with no ads?
This page is one. It plays in any browser with no ads, no signup and no download, and it opens with green noise ready to go and the timer set until morning.
Can green noise play all night?
Yes. The timer arrives on All night, which runs eight hours, and the row under the player also has Off, 30 min and 60 min. Keep it quiet enough to hear a smoke alarm and keep the source off your pillow.
Does green noise have health benefits?
Nobody has shown one, for green noise or for any other noise color. What it does is change what your room sounds like, which is a smaller thing and the only thing this page claims.
Should I pick green because it sounds natural?
The name is where that idea comes from, not the sound. Play it next to pink noise for thirty seconds and keep whichever one you stop noticing. If you can't tell them apart, use pink.
Green noise or brown noise for sleep?
Go by what comes through the wall. Green noise for voices, a television and kitchen sound. Brown noise for a deep rumble: traffic, a boiler, bass from the apartment below. Green noise has almost nothing that deep in it, and brown noise does.