Every parent knows the struggle of trying to get their baby to sleep longer at night. While there are many tips that can help, white noise for baby sleep is one that far too many people overlook. However, you may be surprised to learn that adding a white noise recording in the nursery or child’s room can make a big difference when it comes to your babies sleep habits.
What Is White Noise for Baby Sleep?
Instead of gentle lullaby music with rhythms and specific tones, white noise is more ambient and includes all or most frequencies across the spectrum of human hearing. Some of it mimics natural sounds like running water or wind through the trees while other options use simple tones to create the white noise effect. People have long used these types of ambient sounds for relaxation and sleep.
Does White Noise Really Help?
Yes. Research has shown that these full-spectrum sounds help people of all ages fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. These are the things that parents of infants, toddlers, and small children really want. The reasons why white noise helps involve two different concepts. First, the sounds interact with brain waves and create greater relaxation. Second, the noise itself masks other sounds in the environment and makes them not as irritating or jarring. For example, having the sound of white noise fill your child's room can create a buffer of sound that masks sudden noises of everyday life or voices from the next room to get through to their resting mind.
How to Use White Noise Sleep Best
Ultimately, it does not matter what sleep sound you choose. When you have access to multiple high-quality recordings, you can try several and see what works best for your child. Whichever you use, make sure you play it at the highest quality possible and never over 50db. Many files or white noise machines have recommended levels for different age groups or situations.
Take into consideration how noisy the rest of the environment is for your baby as well. Another option is to use a sleep timer so the sounds play only while your baby is falling asleep and not all night long. In addition to loopable sounds, Fade Away Sleep Sounds offer 60 minute versions where the last 10 minutes have a slow, gradual fade to silence. So slow your child won't even notice it happening. Since young children may not sleep the whole night through and frequently take naps during the day, you will have to adjust this for your own family’s schedule.
Even though the sounds of white noise are very gentle, it is still important to take some precautions when using it for your baby. Do not put a speaker in or directly next to your child’s crib or bassinet. First of all, you do not want to risk the apparatus falling on or bumping your baby. Second, it is not a good idea to have sounds so close to their ear. Also, keep the volume below 50 decibels to protect their hearing and create the best atmosphere for restful sleep.
When used correctly, white noise for baby sleep is one of the best the options when it comes to helping your son or daughter get the rest they need every night.