Does White Noise Help You Sleep?

White noise machines, fan sounds and ten-hour rain videos are everywhere, and plenty of people say they can't sleep without them. The science is less sure. This guide covers whether white noise helps you sleep, what the research says, how loud is safe, and one thing to check if you rely on an alarm.

The short answer: white noise can help if sudden sounds are waking you, because a steady sound makes them stand out less. But the evidence that it improves sleep is weak, and earplugs did better in a recent head-to-head trial. If you use it, keep the volume low and place it away from the bed. And make sure you can still hear your alarm over it.

What is white noise?

White noise is a sound that contains all the frequencies we can hear, in equal measure. It sounds like radio static or a hiss. Related sounds are named after other colours:

Type	Sounds like
White noise	Static, a hissing fan
Pink noise	Steady rain, deeper and softer
Brown noise	A low rumble, like a distant waterfall

Pink and brown noise sound deeper than white noise. Brown noise in particular has barely been studied for sleep.

How white noise is meant to help

It isn't the sound itself that helps. It's what it covers up. In a quiet room, a slamming door is a big jump in sound. With steady background sound, the same door is a smaller jump, so it's less likely to wake you. That's why it suits people woken by sudden noises: traffic, neighbours, a snoring partner or a household on different schedules.

Does white noise actually work?

The honest answer is: maybe, for some people.

• A 2021 review of 38 studies found the quality of evidence that continuous noise improves sleep was very low, and noted that this contradicts how widely it's used.
• One randomised trial found people fell asleep faster with broadband sound playing: about 13 minutes instead of 19.
• A small study in New York found white noise improved sleep for people living in noisy homes, but it had only 10 participants and no comparison group.
• A 2026 sleep lab trial found that adding pink noise didn't protect sleep from outside noise and reduced REM sleep, while earplugs blocked nearly all the effects of the noise (source).

Australian advice is practical about it. The Sleep Health Foundation suggests a fan or white noise machine to help muffle noise for shift workers who sleep during the day.

So if it works for you, there's no strong reason to stop. If you're looking for the best-supported fix for noise, try earplugs first. See light sleeper tips.

How loud should white noise be?

There are no official guidelines for white noise volume during sleep, so use the general rules for safe listening:

• Keep it as quiet as will do the job. It only needs to take the edge off other sounds.
• Put it across the room, not on the bedside table or next to your head.
• Stay well under workplace limits. Safe Work Australia's limit for workers is 85 decibels averaged over eight hours (source), and a sleep sound should be far below that.
• Be careful with babies. One study that tested 14 infant sleep machines at maximum volume found three produced more than 85 decibels. Keep machines well away from the cot and on a low volume.

White noise, fans and alternatives

• A fan gives you steady sound and cooling in one. See how to sleep in hot weather.
• Earplugs block sound instead of covering it.
• Heavier curtains and rugs reduce the noise coming in.
• Fixing the source, such as a partner's alarm or snoring, beats covering it up.

Can you still hear your alarm?

This is the part people forget. Steady background noise can mask an alarm as well as a slamming door. In smoke alarm research, noticeably fewer people woke to an alarm when an air conditioner was running in the room.

So if you sleep with white noise, a fan or earplugs:

1. Test your morning alarm with everything running.
2. Check your smoke alarms can be heard from your bed with the bedroom door closed and the sound on. A vibrating alarm clock is not a safety device.
3. Consider an alarm you feel instead of hear. See how to wake up with earplugs in.

Where the Sovune Nudge fits

We make the Sovune Nudge, a vibrating alarm wristband, so we're not neutral. If you sleep with white noise, a fan or earplugs:

• You feel it, so nothing masks it. It wakes you with vibration on your wrist, whatever is playing in the room.
• Escalating vibration for a full minute, through three intensity levels.
• It removes one of the noises. If your partner's early alarm is the reason you need white noise, a silent alarm on their wrist fixes the cause.
• Set on the band, with no app or phone.

It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Quick answers

Does white noise help you sleep? It can help mask sudden sounds, and some studies show people fall asleep faster. Overall, the evidence is weak.

Is it bad to sleep with white noise every night? It's widely used, but one recent trial found pink noise reduced REM sleep. Use it only if it helps you, at low volume and away from your head.

Is pink or brown noise better than white noise? There's no good evidence that one is better for sleep. Choose the one you find least annoying.

Are earplugs better than white noise? In a 2026 trial, earplugs protected sleep from noise better than pink noise did.

For every type of silent alarm compared, see our complete guide to vibrating alarms in Australia.

See the Sovune Nudge →