We’re expecting our first child any day now and trying to prepare (as much as we can) to help our baby sleep. We’ve read Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block (and watched the DVD).
White noise, is one of Karp’s suggestions for helping babies sleep. So we’re now exploring the potential of white noise to soothe babies. How much do you know about white noise for babies? Find out and get your hands and ears on some free white noise. (Some of the links throughout this post are affiliate links – see the disclosure statement on our about page).
Positive Aspects of White Noise for Babies
For many people white noise machines are a standard addition to the nursery (or bedroom). Arguments for white noise helping babies sleep are all over the internet. The number of reviews on Amazon for white noise machines is quite impressive. The Sleep Easy Sound Conditioner has almost 1,700 positive reviews and the Marpac DOHM-DS Natural White Noise Sound Machine has close to to 6,500 positive reviews! You can also find a number of mobile apps that generate white noise such as Sleep Pillow Sounds White Noise Machine with almost 2,000 positive reviews or Relax Melodies HD with over 3,000 positive reviews.
A 1990 study White Noise and Sleep Induction by J A Spencer, D J Moran, A Lee, and D Talbert found that:
“Sixteen (80%) [of babies in the study] fell asleep within five minutes in response to white noise compared with only five (25%) who fell asleep spontaneously in the control group. White noise may help mothers settle difficult babies.”
A 2005 study Continuous White Noise to Reduce Resistance Going to Sleep and Night Wakings in Toddlers by LeAnne M. Forquer MS & C. Merle Johnson PhD found that some toddlers benefited from white noise. Their abstract (summary) of that study states that:
“Three of four toddlers were sleeping better at the end of treatment [white noise generators at 74db]; however, one child’s night wakings returned at follow-up when white noise was discontinued. All parents were comfortable with the white noise and most would recommend it to others. White noise may be effective for childhood night wakings and resistance going to sleep without being combined with other validated treatments.”
Potential Negative Aspects of White Noise Machines
However, we are also aware of warnings that sound machines can be too loud for babies and potentially damage their hearing if not used safely. Most of the mainstream news reports on potential hazards of white noise machines refer to the study Infant Sleep Machines and Hazardous and Hazardous Sound Pressure Levels by Sarah C. Hugh, MD, Nikolaus E. Wolter, MD, Evan J. Propst, MD, MSc, Karen A. Gordon, PhD, Sharon L. Cushing, MD, MSc, and Blake C. Papsin, MD, MSc. This New York Times article seems to have the most detailed summary of the study.
The key take away from the study is that:
several devices are capable of producing levels that may be damaging to infant hearing and may be detrimental to auditory development.
The consensus among those sharing warnings seems to be that parents can use white noise machines but should be cautious.
Our Creative Option
So what does this have to do with creativity? We are going to try an experiment related to white noise. We’ve created our own! Well sort of. Since we like to use music creation programs, we decided to explore the possibilities of generating white noise and then creating variations by processing the sound in various ways with the music application Ableton Live. We’ll discuss the process of creating white noise variations and ways of using the white noise sometime in another post but we wanted to share our variations on white noise here (which you are free to have if you wish). We see this as a way of being creative as parents/guardians and possibly getting older children involved in the process. We’ll follow up with an additional post to let you know if and how these white noise variations work for soothing our baby. So without further ado. . .
Variations on White Noise!
What are your experiences with white noise? What are the best ways you’ve found for helping little ones sleep?