Although most parents now swaddle their kids, it still shocks me how few employ white noise to help their child go asleep. An extraordinarily potent cue for falling asleep…and sleeping longer, white noise works wonders with fussy babies. This unique sound is just as crucial as swaddling. White noise actually made 80% of babies in a 40-baby study fall asleep in just 5 minutes! White noise helps colicky newborns fall asleep faster and for shorter periods of time, according to another study. White noise has been shown to help with sleep improvement, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Allow me to explain how it all functions and how white noise can benefit you and your child.

Why does white noise calm babies?

In the Happiest Baby sleep method, white noise is a crucial tool. It helps activate your baby’s natural calming reflex, or «reset button,» which reduces crying and promotes sleep. The sound that soothes fussing the best is a rough, slightly harsh noise that is as loud as your child’s sobbing. You can give your infant this sound by just placing your mouth next to their ear and uttering a loud «Shhhhhhhhhhhh». Yet white noise has other uses besides just soothing sobbing. Moreover, a rumblier, lower-pitched sound encourages slumber. A white noise generator is an excellent suggestion because it might be challenging to «Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh» in your child’s ear during naps and at night.

What ways does white noise help a baby sleep?

White noise helps to create a soothing environment for your infant, acting as a cuddly teddy bear of sound and lulling them to sleep. Since it resembles the sounds your baby hears while still in the womb, white noise is extremely beneficial. Both then and now, white noise has the ability to put people to sleep. Furthermore promoting ZZZs, white noise masks internal discomforts like teething and mild hunger as well as external distractions like a loud truck or a TV playing in the next room.

Play white noise in the background while your infant settles into bed to begin utilising it. This will soon alert your sweetheart that their slide into sleep is just moments away. And this will keep working even after the baby’s calming reflex gradually fades away after three to four months. Your child will have figured out by that point that white noise signals the beginning of bedtime. Your beautiful baby will consequently think, «Oh yeah, I recognise that sound…now I’ll have nice sleep,» every time you turn on the white noise. (All of that is quite Pavlovian!)

Which white noise helps babies fall asleep the best?

Only constant, repetitive, and low-pitched noises can help put babies to sleep, despite the fact that many white noise machines and apps have 20 or more sounds. (Inconsistent sounds, such as waves or birds chirping, just don’t work.) And the finest white noise sounds for your baby’s sleep are those that resemble the loud, rumbling noises they endured for nine months inside the womb. Using our award-winning SNOO bassinet, our Happiest Baby SNOO sounds download, and/or a white noise machine like SNOObie or SNOObear—where you can always find all the perfect sounds—will ensure that you’re providing your child with the ideal sleep noises. The following are the top infant sleep sounds created especially for SNOO:

Rain is calming and peaceful for parents and babies.
Powerful hair dryer: Calms fussy infants
The best sound for fussiest babies is quick, brisk white noise.
Moreover, there are two more in SNOObear:
Train: a soothing pulse like the heart.
Shush: Exacts what seasoned parents do to quiet fussing

Can babies be consistently exposed to white noise?

White noise should not be utilised continuously, similar to swaddling. That’s because you want to give your baby’s ears and brain a rest each day for a few hours so they can become used to hearing you and your voice normally. Save the white noise, then, for soothing your baby’s cries and for enhancing naps and nocturnal sleep.

What white noise level is ideal?

When your infant is agitated, you should turn up the white noise to match the volume of their cries, which can reach 100 to 120 decibels! After your infant has fallen asleep, gradually lower the volume to 60 to 70 decibels. Sound can be played continuously at that volume without causing any harm. (By the way, you can set SNOObear to automatically turn off its white noise after 30 or 60 minutes.) To put things in perspective, research indicates that the sound within the womb can reach above 90 dB, which is the strength of a hair dryer, whereas 70 decibels sounds like a shower.

When should white noise for babies be stopped?

You don’t have to turn off the white noise! There is absolutely no danger in parents utilising white noise to promote sleep with their children (and with themselves) for years. Yet, it’s okay if you decide to stop. If you desire, you can easily wean yourself from white noise. Just reduce the volume bit by bit over a week or two until it is completely gone.

References:

Facilitation of retention by white noise
White, fat and blind — Economy and evolution in caves
Listen up: Excessive noise is a public health issue