White Noise: What is It Good for?
Finding ways of getting more sleep may be top of mind for you. It was for me too when my kids were babies. And it’s one of, if not the, main concerns parents have in the first three years of their baby’s life.
One popular strategy for trying to meet the goal of easier sleep with an infant is using a white noise machine. But does it work? And are there risks?
In this blog I explore one aspect —why white noise machines may be helpful— because I know, as a parent myself, that time for reading can be tight! But I also explore the other side of the issue.
So let’s take a dive into white noise machines.
Whenever we "add" something to our environment, it's never neutral.
It can make things better. It can make things worse. And it can do both. Understanding the risks and benefits can help you make wise choices about what to do to try to get more zzz's, and may also lead to a shift in your goals.
If you are thinking "What?! My goal of wanting more sleep might change? That's absurd!", bear with me. I'm not asking you to abandon that goal altogether, but to put it into context with the normal development of sleep.
For now, let's start with the reasons you may want to use a white noise machine:
1. To help your baby fall asleep faster
2. To dampen other noises in your house so it is less likely to interrupt your baby's sleep
For falling asleep faster, there was a study of 40 babies in 1990 that found that 80% of newborn babies in the study fell asleep after 5 minutes in response to white noise, whereas only 25% of the babies fell asleep on their own without it. Babies also slept 20% longer. This seems pretty compelling, but certainly didn't apply to my kiddo when we were using a white noise machine! It may help to settle difficult babies but, because we're adding to the environment something that would not normally be part of their environment we've got to look at the downside:
newborn babies' brains are exceptionally immature, and tricking an immature brain into falling into a sleep state may not really be the best approach from a biological and neurodevelopmental perspective
the study found that white noise only worked in babies who were not hungry (seems obvious, but I'm glad they acknowledged that!) which begs the question, "is there a reason your baby isn't falling asleep quickly?". Using white noise instead of resolving your baby's need (for milk, for your touch, or your voice) likely won't work.
all babies, but particularly very young babies, need co-regulation to develop their ability to regulate themselves and eventually fall asleep on their own. A white noise machine is not a substitute for your presence.
your sleep and your well-being is important, too. And there may be other ways to get the rest you need that are worth exploring. They may require more creativity, and a look at how to rejig the layout of your day (designing your day to meet your needs and your baby's needs). But this approach will serve you long after the newborn phase.
As your baby matures, the safety concern about co-regulation while sleeping lessens. The study above was on newborns, not toddlers.
And we've got to acknowledge that even without the white noise machine, the babies still fell asleep, just not quite as quickly.
As for dampening other noises, we all know we have trouble hearing things outside the bathroom when the fan or shower is running, and my kids know first hand they can't tell me anything if I'm cooking in the kitchen with the exhaust fan on unless they get up off the couch and come to me. (If there were a way to make this happen any other way, they'd have figured it out by now!).
However, with very young babies, environmental noises like your voice, footsteps, etc can actually help keep babies in the light REM sleep that they ought to be in for most of their sleep. It is protective for them. (Dr. Sears actually has suggested having two-way baby monitors so that babies can hear us and know we are close by). Other babies find the background noise so disruptive to their sleep that a white noise machine may help significantly. Especially if your environment includes wild and raucous toddlers whose joyous cacaphony starts just as you finally get the wee one asleep!
For more on this topic, watch the short video I recorded February 26th 2021 in the Family Sleep & Development Group for a quick overview of a 2014 white noise study on rats (the study that’s got a lot of buzz and a lot of parents worried) and the American Academy of Pediatric's 2014 recommendations about decibel level, both of which I’ll explore in more detail in my next blog.
Till then, have a wonderful day and a restful night.
Warmly,
Heather