What’s the best soundtrack for your sleep?

Most of us have heard of white noise, but can brown noise help lull you to sleep? Pink noise?

Brown noise, which filters out the higher pitches found in traditional white noise, is trending on social media as a possible answer to a better night’s sleep. These deeper, brassier sounds—like rainfall, wind, and a rushing river—make brown noise a tempting new option.

But sleep expert Mir Shuttari, MD, cautioned against relying on any “color” of noise for more than a week. Dr. Shuttari is a Falmouth pulmonologist who is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and specializes in sleep medicine. He also sees patients at Cape Cod Healthcare Sleep Lab, located at Falmouth Hospital.

“Using background noise to help you fall asleep can be helpful for one or two nights, especially if you are away from home—in a hotel, for example—and want to block sounds. But I don’t want people to get in the habit of playing brown, pink or white noise as a sleep aid for months or years. That’s not advisable because you may be masking some other real problems, such as chronic insomnia or sleep apnea, that need to be evaluated by a physician,” he said.

The colors of noise fall into a category called broadband sounds, Dr. Shuttari said. Humans are able to listen to sounds within a range of 20 to 20,000 hertz, he said. Average conversations, waves at the beach and rain all fall within this sound range.

Social media has a life of its own, Dr. Shuttari explained, but there is no scientific proof that white, pink, brown or any other noise helps with maintaining sleep or making you feel refreshed when you wake.

Observational Studies Only

Research on the benefits of listening to a particular color of noise has been ongoing since about 2011, but the scientific evidence is limited and flimsy, he said.

“The studies to date are observational, not the randomized, double-blind studies necessary to scientifically identify which type of noise might work for which age group, gender, etc. We also need to study how long and how often people can be exposed to these noises. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine does not have that kind of data yet,” he said.

He acknowledged there have been a lot of reports on the benefits of white sound, which covers the entire human hearing range. White sound is not disturbing or anxiety-provoking to most people and can be helpful when trying to sleep in a noisy environment, he said, but it is not a good long-term solution.

“You can easily download pink, white, brown or other noise to help you sleep, but the best solution for sleep problems is to check with your doctor. A sleep specialist can identify any medical problems interfering with proper sleep,” Dr. Shuttari said.

Sleep apnea, for example, wakes people up because their upper airways are becoming narrow. Music is not the answer for that, he emphasized. Sleep apnea requires specific treatment to help avoid a number of serious health problems.

Tips for Sleep Hygiene

Lifestyle changes may be all that is necessary to help improve sleep. Dr. Shuttari’s tip for good sleep hygiene is to avoid multimedia screens before and during bedtime and to avoid caffeine at least six hours before going to bed.

Most sleep problems aren’t as severe as chronic insomnia or sleep apnea, so they are treatable without medications or CPAP machines, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. 

“There are a wide variety of sleep disorders. Our academy says about 70 million people experience sleep disorders each year. All are treatable,” said Dr. Shuttari.