I remember when I was little and there was no internet TV yet. There were certain TV channels that we didn't get and that made this irritating sound (I always told my parents "it's snowing on TV"). And it was while growing up that I learned that this irritating sound was called white noise and that it could help your baby sleep.
This article aims to illustrate a bit of how white noise will help you fall asleep and stay asleep with your baby.
White noise could be characterized as a mixture of sound waves that span a wide range of frequencies. In other words, it's a mix of sounds with treble and bass and everything in between. The mixing of these sounds is what drowns out most other sounds , so your brain has a hard time telling one sound from another when you hear all the different frequencies of the sounds.
A static television channel, as I mentioned above, the vacuum cleaner, the hair dryer, a fan or a humidifier are some examples of white noise. Some people often find the sound of waves, rain or thunderstorms also soothing.
How does white noise put you or your child to sleep? Explanations
In fact, it is not. White noise doesn't put you or your baby to sleep , but it does help you focus less on those other noises by drowning out other noises in the house . White noises, such as your heartbeat, blood flowing, mom's breathing, etc. These womb-like noises can comfort your baby, especially newborns who haven't gotten used to the outside world yet.
The repeated and continuous sounds of white noise can also help you or your baby stay asleep, which can be the hardest part. The repetitive whirring of white noise will give you the sonic continuity that will soothe your baby to stay asleep or drown out household noises like talking to people, doing the dishes, etc. If your baby can't get used to sleeping with noises, like mine did, this is especially helpful.
Use white noise at any age to sleep?
It's amazing and I never realized until last year, but I slept better with white noise ! Ironically, I'm not the best sleeper (which is why I'm so determined to help my boys sleep well). I was surprised as I am a light sleeper and can't always get back to sleep right away (which made co-sleeping all the more difficult as my son was going to fall back asleep every 1-2 hours until until we teach him to fall asleep on his own).
It all started one summer when it was so dry in the house because of the heat that I had to install an air humidifier. I realized that it helped me sleep ! The sound it produces is not very loud but loud enough to help me sleep . (Knowing that I'm a light sleeper)
I have found that it also helps me fall asleep faster on nights when I can't turn my brain off. I found that it kept me from waking up to every little noise the kids made. I turned it off one night about a week ago and heard my son making noises in his sleep. Before I knew I was half asleep, I remembered he was still sleeping. I went back to bed right away and turned on my humidifier. In our boys' rooms we have two Sleepyzz™ devices to help them sleep and they sleep through the night.
Can a child become "addicted" to white noise?
I don't believe when I was a baby my parents used white noise and my mom said they let me cry (even though she didn't exactly call it that, but that was the gist of it ). I never used it when I was little, but now it helps me sleep. My boys do n't necessarily need it for sleep (we don't take white noise machines on vacation and my husband sometimes forgets to turn one on). However, I can understand that one can get so used to these devices that you might need them for sleep.
Now when I'm not using it, the room seems so quiet. This is yet another sleep association and you have to decide for yourself whether it is positive or negative for you and/or your baby. Personally, I decided that white noise was acceptable, because you don't have to "redo" anything all night to continue sleeping. We turn it on and that's it.
The different sources of white noise
White noise is a type of sound made up of a mixture of frequencies of equal intensity. It can be used to mask other sounds and create a sense of relaxation. There are many different sources of white noise, including natural sounds like rain or waves, and man-made sounds like fans or white noise machines.
Each person may have a different preference for the type of white noise they find most soothing, but the most popular options are soft music, nature sounds, and ambient noise.
I hope this article has enlightened you on the subject. Feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments.
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