Pink Noise: What Is It & How Does It Promote Better Sleep?

Spaces

You might have heard the terms pink and white noise, even brown noise before but what does this actually mean? When did noise sounds start being associated with colours anyway and how is this relevant to your little one's sleep? It’s actually pretty fascinating and knowing about it in more detail, might just set you up for a more successful sleep situation for you and bub and decide if it’s something you really need. Let’s jump in and ride some sound waves shall we?

Love To Dream

4 min read |

08 May, 2025

What Is Pink Noise?

To understand pink noise, it helps to know first that sound is essentially vibrations These vibrations can be categorised into speeds i.e. fast or slow and how fast they move is called the frequency.

Low frequencies are slow vibrations, like a deep rumble or thunder. High frequencies are fast, like a whistle or a bird chirping.

Pink noise is a mix of both, but it leans more toward the lower, deeper sounds. That’s why it feels softer, more natural, and less sharp - kind of like an air conditioner, rhythmic heartbeat or the whooshing sounds babies hear in the womb.

How this applies to baby sleep is that it’s believed that pink and white noise could improve sleep by creating a consistent sound environment. These noise sounds can reduce the contrast between background noise and any sudden loud noises, like doors closing or excitable toddlers playing in the other room (one can dream anyway!), therefore offering your little one a chance at an uninterrupted snooze.

Also as a rhythmic heartbeat or a whooshing sound of the womb falls into a pink noise category, it can be assumed that the familiarity of their previous home can ease the transition to world-side and make for a more restful sleep. Is that not just the sweetest?!

Examples Of Pink Noise Sounds

Some other examples of sounds that fall into the pink noise category are:

Steady Rainfall
Ocean Waves
Rustling Leaves
Wind
A rhythmic heartbeat
River Flow

There is a bit of a natural-esque pattern forming here!

Test out your preferred examples of white, pink and brown noise

Lullaby

Rain

Womb

Hush

Heartbeat

Birds

White

Brown

The Science Behind How Pink Noise Helps Babies Sleep

One of the biggest benefits to pink noise is how it helps create a consistent sound environment to soften the unexpected disruption of any household or unexpected noises. As pink noise contains a wide range of frequencies at a balanced level, it reduces the contrast between background noise and any sudden loud noises, giving the baby the opportunity to fall asleep and stay asleep, without being interrupted.

The sound of a rhythmic heartbeat is also considered to be classified as “pink noise” so it’s hypothesised that this sound is familiar to the noises from inside the womb which can help calm a baby's nervous system and promote deeper sleep cycles.

So if we are thinking of pink noise like an “auditory blanket” it can be a very useful step in your sleep routine to encourage better sleep quality for your baby.

Is Pink Noise Safe For Babies?

The volume is important but yes, pink noise is safe for babies - you just want to make sure you follow some guidelines:

Aim to keep your noise machine at least two metres away from your baby’s sleep space. 
Ensure the sound level never exceeds 50 decibels (no louder than a quiet conversation or a shower running).
Always make sure the noise machine is out of your child’s reach and any cords are safely tucked away.

Pink Noise Vs White Noise

The difference between pink and white noise is the power of the frequencies. White noise contains all audible frequencies (from low to high) at equal intensities or power levels. Pink noise also contains all audible frequencies, but the intensity decreases as the frequency increases.

This means the lower frequencies have more energy than the higher frequencies., resulting in a more natural, soothing and less abrasive sound than white noise.

Learn More: White Noise and How to Use it

Pink Noise Vs Brown Noise

Brown noise (also known as Brownian noise or red noise) also contains all audible frequencies, but the intensity decreases even more as the frequency increases.. This means it has a significantly greater concentration of energy in the lower frequencies compared to pink noise, resulting in a much much deeper, heavy sound, like thunder rolling for example.

Ultimately, the colour you choose really comes down to sound preference or what your baby responds best to as the research on the effectiveness is ongoing. Some babies may prefer the static of white noise or the deeper rumblings of brown. That was one of the decisions behind designing our sleep machine which has options for each or, you could even record your very own version of a lullaby. Nothing guaranteed to soothe more than a parent's voice after all.

Did you know?..

Every child and everybody feels hot and cold differently, ambient temperatures fluctuate, the child's general health and wellbeing will impact body temperature and different clothing and sleepwear layer combinations will differ in their thermal effectiveness.

Did you know?..

Every child and everybody feels hot and cold differently, ambient temperatures fluctuate, the child's general health and wellbeing will impact body temperature and different clothing and sleepwear layer combinations will differ in their thermal effectiveness.