What pink noise sounds like next to white and brown
White noise is a bright, even hiss, like a faucet left running. Brown noise is a deep rumble, closer to what a plane sounds like from inside the cabin. Pink noise sits between them, with some of the hiss and some of the rumble, and nothing in it that jumps out at you.
That middle ground is why people leave it on longer. White noise can start to feel sharp after an hour, and brown noise has almost nothing to give at the pitch of a conversation or a running faucet. Pink covers a bit of both, so it's a reasonable first try when you don't yet know what's waking you.
How loud to set it, and what to play it through
The slider opens at half, which is a starting point for a small speaker in an ordinary bedroom, not a rule. On earbuds it will be too loud, and in an apartment on a busy street it will be too quiet.
Set the level with the disturbance going on around you. Pick it in a silent bedroom and it will be too quiet once the street gets going. Aim for the point where the neighbor's TV stops standing out, then leave the slider alone. Past that point you're only adding noise to noise.
A phone speaker gives you the hiss and loses most of the deep part of the sound, so pink noise out of a phone sounds thinner than it should. Flat earbuds you can sleep on, or a small speaker a few steps away on the floor, both do more than turning the volume up.
Voices, traffic, and a head that won't stop
Voices are the hard case for anything you play. Your ear keeps hunting for words, so a conversation through the wall gets blurred rather than removed. Pink noise does more for that than brown noise does, because speech sits at a pitch where pink noise still has something to give.
Deep rumble is the other way around. A truck pulling away, a boiler that fires at two, bass from the apartment below: pink noise thins out down there and brown noise doesn't. If that's your night, the brown noise preset is the better page for it.
People also leave it on when the room is already quiet and their head won't stop narrating. What they describe is having something dull to rest their attention on. That isn't treatment for anxiety or insomnia, and if the bad nights have run for weeks it's worth taking to a doctor.
Tonight
- Press play. It opens at half volume, a fair place to start in an ordinary bedroom.
- A thin hiss with nothing under it means you're on a phone speaker; earbuds or a proper speaker fix that.
- Set the level with the noise outside going, then play your alarm over the top and check you'd wake to it.
- The timer arrives on All night, which runs eight hours. Tap 30 min or 60 min if the disturbance ends earlier than you do.
Frequently asked questions
Is pink noise better than white noise for sleep?
Neither one wins on its own; it depends on what wakes you. Pink noise is less bright, which makes it easier to leave on for hours. White noise has more of the bright hiss in it, so it does a little more for a sharp sound like a door or an alarm through a wall. Play both for thirty seconds and keep the one you stop noticing.
Does pink noise increase deep sleep?
Not from a track like this one. Some small studies played very short pink bursts timed to a sleeper's own brain waves, measured live in a lab. This page plays a steady sound and doesn't reproduce that timing, so the finding doesn't carry over. What a steady sound does is make a sudden noise stand out less.
How do I use pink noise for sleep?
Press play, set the level while the noise you're covering is actually happening, and keep the source off your pillow. Leave the timer on All night if the disturbance runs until morning, or tap 30 min if you only take a while to drop off. Then stop grading it and give it a week.
How loud should pink noise be at night?
Loud enough that the noise you're covering stops standing out, and no louder. You should still be able to talk in the room without effort, and your alarm should still cut through. Play it once over the top to be sure.
Can pink noise play all night?
Yes, and this preset arrives on All night, which runs eight hours. The timer row under the player also has 30 min and 60 min for a noise that's only around while you're falling asleep, and Off to let it run until you stop it. Keep it quiet enough to hear a smoke alarm.
Pink, white or brown noise: which one should I pick?
Go by what comes through the wall. Brown noise for a deep rumble like traffic or a boiler. White or pink noise for voices, a faucet or a door. Pink is the one to start with when you're not sure, because it has some of both in it.
Will I get used to it?
Probably, if you use it every night, and a silent hotel room can feel strange for a night or two after that. Leave it off one night a week and you'll know where you stand before a trip.