Sound Principles: You may not be aware of this, but as soon as you hear a sound, your brain automatically interprets two crucial characteristics to aid in understanding it:
Frequency/Pitch: Does the sound have a low, bass-like pitch or a high, scream-like pitch?

Amplitude/Intensity: How loud or quiet is the sound? Is it quiet like a whisper or loud like a hoover? Vibrations that move through the air in a wave-like fashion create sounds. By vibrating, air particles cause the vibration of particles nearby. When the music travels, the vibrations lose intensity and spread from the sound source. Tiny bones in your ears pick up the vibrations as the music reaches you, and your brain then processes the information.

Further information on these ideas is provided below, or you can skip to the section on how sound can put your baby to sleep.

Frequency

How quickly sound waves vibrate is described by their frequency. Hertz (Hz) units of frequency refer to cycles per second or one vibration, respectively. Dogs can hear up to 45000 Hz, while the human ear can only perceive noises between 20 and 20000 Hz.

Frequency explains how people feel in Pitch (high pitch sounds are high frequency, low pitch are low frequency).

Amplitude

The strength or power of sound waves is measured by their amplitude. In Decibels, amplitude is measured (dB). An eardrum is quickly perforated at 160 dB, which is louder than a big concert (120 dB), normal voices (60 dB), or anything above 85 dB in the office.

A given area, a certain time, and a given direction are described by the intensity of the amplitude travelling across them.

Decibels

The measurement of sound intensity using decibels is not a linear process. In order to measure them, a logarithmic scale with a base of 10 is used, meaning they don’t increase linearly. This is due to the fact that in order to increase the volume of a sound by two, its intensity must be multiplied by a factor of about ten. Our perception of sound is more in line with decibels and its logarithmic scale.

Intensity therefore rises by a factor of 10 for every 10 dB increase in amplitude. Comparing the volume differences between 60 and 120 dB, the difference between 20 and 60 dB is negligible. An average conversation is 60 dB, a hoover cleaner is 80 dB, and a plane taking off is 140 dB. Whispering is approximately 20 dB.
Octaves
The doubling of frequencies is referred to as an octave. An octave, for instance, can be used to describe the range between 100 Hz and 200 Hz or between 20 Hz and 40 Hz.

The strange thing is that we don’t hear octaves linearly; instead, we perceive the difference between 20–40 Hz and 10,000–20,000 Hz as being equal. However, higher frequency sounds are more perceptible to human ears, which helps to explain how crying babies make us feel.

White Noise

Typically, the sounds you hear every day have fairly brief waveforms and fairly random amplitude and frequency distributions. Low, medium, and high frequency sounds played simultaneously and at the same volume produce white noise.

White noise, which is frequently compared to TV or radio static, is simply the full range of frequencies audible to humans (roughly 20 Hz to 20 kHz), randomly played at the same volume. White noise is a sound wave that has all the audible frequencies blended together at equal volume, much as how a white light beam is made up of all the colours. When referring to pink noise, white noise is frequently used instead.

White noise may not genuinely exist in the form that you perceive it to. Higher frequencies are more unpleasant to the human ear than lower ones, while white noise is made up of all audible frequencies at the same intensity.

Music in Colors

In a manner similar to how distinct colours of light are distinguished, the many «colours» of sound are determined by their frequency and amplitude.

In contrast to other colours, which have more or less power in the higher or lower frequencies, white noise has all audible frequencies present at the same amplitude.

Pink Noise

Compared to white noise, pink noise seems less «bright.» All of the audible frequencies are present in pink noise as well, but pink noise has a far more harmonious sound because when the frequency doubles, the intensity is cut in half.

With more low-frequency tones and fewer high-frequency tones, pink noise is produced. Compared to white noise, it is more neutral.

Pink noise has equal power each octave, which causes people to frequently interpret it as being more flat and balanced.

Brown Noise

The phenomenon of Brownian motion, which describes the haphazard movement of particles, is the source of the moniker «brown noise,» not after the colour but rather after Robert Brown. Brown(ian) noise most closely resembles the ‘colour’ of sound that is red. Pink noise and red noise are comparable, with red noise being even more intense at low frequencies.

Even more low frequency tones than pink noise are present in brown noise (also called red noise). than pink noise, it is deeper.

Energy decreases by around 1-3 dB in pink noise and by about 6 dB in red noise every octave. Red noise is frequently heard as a deeper, rumbling or roaring sound.

Natural Noises

Pink noise is frequently connected to rain or wind, white noise to radio or television static, and brown or red noise to distant thunder or waterfalls. Audio engineers can produce all of these sounds, but they can also be found in the environment around us in their natural form.

Depending on how much they emphasise high and low frequencies, rain, wind, waves, thunder, and sounds created by artificial objects like tvs, vacuums, fans, and many more, can all be considered instances of these various colours of sound. The engineer recording natural sounds must make sure that they cover as much of the frequency range as possible; after this is done, the intensities of the sounds can be changed to produce a variety of different tones.

Rest of the Rainbow

When all frequencies played at the same volume, white noise is the most recognisable colour of sound.

The focus is on lower frequencies in pink and red/brown noise.
Higher frequency components are more prominent in blue and violet noise.
In terms of frequency, pink’s counterpart is blue.
Red and brown are equivalent in high frequency to violet.
Low and high frequencies are particularly prominent in grey noise. With less strength in the middle, it is most intense at the top and bottom ends of the frequency spectrum. Grey noise commonly appears as white noise to the human ear.
The absence of sound, or «black noise,» is quiet.
High frequency sounds’ colours are less frequently connected with sleep since the human ear is more sensitive to them, but they can be helpful in masking other high frequency sounds because they are less disruptive to sleep.

Sound Benefits

As a cushion of sound or a blanket of noise, white, pink, and red noise is widely used as metaphors. Its greatest advantages come from their capacity to surround you and your infant with constant loudness, drowning out any background noise, and muffling any sudden shifts or irregularities in environmental noise. The sound of a regular CPAP machine is typically preferred by people over the inconsistent snoring of a spouse because of this.

White, pink, and red noise’s key advantage is that it can cover up any other noises that might otherwise interfere with sleep.

Depending on their sensitivity, people may prefer red to pink or pink to white, but the idea is always the same.

Numerous Claims

White noise is the subject of numerous Online allegations. Your infant will sleep more soundly as a result. Adults are better able to focus and pay attention. Your memory benefits. You feel calmer as a result. Assists in headache relief. For quick naps, it’s beneficial. Overnight sleep is aided by it. Those who have tinnitus benefit from it. The alternative is that it carries out all of these actions. It’s addictive potential. Your baby’s hearing might be harmed. Your tinnitus will become worse.

You can use a white noise machine to soothe your baby to sleep with ease, so don’t worry. Baby sound addiction does not exist, and it is a good idea to develop a sleep schedule. The sleep schedules for your child will alter as they get older because they are continuously growing and changing! Your child’s hearing won’t be harmed if you utilise a white noise machine sensibly. While using a machine, make sure the volume is set adequately for the distance between the machine and your infant. Certain machines have the capacity to play sounds at high decibels, so you should be aware of this.

Several studies investigating the advantages of white noise have been conducted over the last few decades. The links to a few of these studies are provided below, but you should be aware that they were all conducted on relatively small populations of subjects, so use them with caution.

To make claims about the advantages of white noise and sleep with certainty, there have only been a few studies done.

There haven’t been any extensive, credible studies done on the impact of white (or other colour) noise on infant, child, or adult sleep.

Bottom Line

Try many things until you find one that works for you and your infant, is the best advise we can offer. Your baby’s ability to fall asleep with sound is extremely likely. The majority of your baby’s existence was spent in the womb, where your body’s continual noise was present. Beyond that, your child should be assisted in preparing for and adjusting to sleep by anything that establishes a habit.

Attempt white, pink, or red synthetic sounds. Try listening to some of the world’s natural sounds, such as streams, waves, thunderstorms, rain, fire, wind, and other things. Test out sounds from appliances including hair dryers, vacuums, and washing machines. Try listening for human noises like heartbeats, uterine sounds, humming, or shushing. Lullaby music is a good idea to remember.

Keep experimenting until you and your child discover a sound that works for both of you because every baby is unique and different noises resonate with children at various ages.

References

Loud Noise and Pregnancy
COVID-19 in Pregnancy: A Current Review of Global Cases
Cerclage Use: A Review of 3 National Guidelines
Opioid Use in Pregnancy: A Review