Best white noise machines for sleep: Expert advice to use when shopping
An expert discusses how white noise machines can help support sleep hygiene.
White noise machines are hardly new, but their popularity remains steady as folks with issues falling asleep continue seeking out safe, easy ways to doze off each night.
To help you understand a bit more about their purpose and utility, we spoke with Dr. Hyun “Monica” Kim, PhD, a scientist, researcher and assistant professor of medical psychology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Kim is “most passionate about helping people live a full life by managing mood and sleep difficulties,” and focuses on research, clinical work and psychoeducation to discover ways to help patients with these issues.
In her opinion, white noise machines are a great tool for some folks who have difficulties sleeping thanks to two main mechanisms of their functionality – stimulus control and noise masking – and why those might help you.
How do white noise machines work?
Kim explains the stimulus control mechanism as teaching yourself to respond to the external stimuli of various sounds.
“When people turn on the white noise machine,” she explains, “it could set the stage for promoting all these sleep related physiologic changes. It’s like telling the body 'time to go to bed.’”
The second mechanism is the masking effect, which Kim simply describes as “masking environmental sounds and noises.”
One place that uses white noise machines to this effect is hospital intensive care units, where their use as non-pharmacological sleep aid helps patients rest by “blocking outside sounds from the hallway” and other “important but very disruptive sounds associated with hospital function," according to Kim. One small study published in the Journal of Caring Science by the National Library of Medicine in 2016 found that white noise machines used in a critical care units could be effective for "masking environmental noises, improving sleep, and maintaining sleep."
“This gives us evidence that yes, maybe white noise machines may be very beneficial, explains Kim, “and they could be powerful when somebody's having difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep because of environmental factors.”
Potential drawbacks to white noise machines
The most obvious risk with white noise machines is hearing damage, which can easily be mitigated by avoiding use at a very high level for prolonged periods of time.
“But just to be on the safer side, I do advise against, you know, using it in a very high intensity way,” suggests Kim, adding that you should never have the machine on very loud settings near your ears.
And like any sleep aid, white noise machines can be habit-forming.
“If someone is noticing that they are becoming more dependent on using the white noise machine for their sleep, [that can] lead them to having more anxiety and more rigid bedtime rituals, so I advise them to look for a healthier way to fall asleep.”
She also warns that the machines are not a treatment for insomnia, all of which require a proper diagnosis and possibly medical or therapeutic intervention.
Is a white noise machine right for you?
While we have used the phrase “white noise machine” throughout, many machines offer different “colors” of noise such as brown, pink and green. If your goal is to fall asleep more quickly or stay asleep, a machine that offers a range of noise settings could be a great way to explore which sounds work best at lulling you off into dreamland each night.
However if you experience a chronic issue such as insomnia or waking frequently throughout the night, Kim encourages a consultation with a sleep specialist to ensure the problem is properly handled.
Below is a selection of several popular options to help you find the most effective machine for your needs and budget.
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When shopping for a white noise machine for your child, keep in mind the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidance that states excessive exposure to loud noises may be detrimental to their safety. Read more about that here.