What Is Pink Noise?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Pink Noise WorksExamplesPink Noise and SleepColors of NoiseRisksPink Noise Machine

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

How Pink Noise Works

Examples

Pink Noise and Sleep

Colors of Noise

Risks

Pink Noise Machine

Pink noise contains all the sound frequencies that humans can hear. Unlike white noise—which represents all the frequencies equally—the higher frequencies in pink noise are less intense.

For many people, pink noise can block out annoying background sounds without sounding harsh or shrill.Some people use pink noise to help them sleep.

This article will go over what pink noise is. You’ll learn how pink noise is different from white noise and brown noise, why you might want to try using pink noise, and whether listening to pink noise can be harmful.

Verywell / Theresa Chiechi

Do Sleep Gadgets Really Work?

Pink noise is a noise “color” like white noise. The colors are used to describe the frequencies that are in the noise.

Colors of Light and SoundUsing colors to describe sounds comes from how we talk about the colors on the spectrum of light that we can see.For example, white light includes all colors on the spectrum. Similarly, white noise has all frequencies of sound in it that humans can hear.

Colors of Light and Sound

Using colors to describe sounds comes from how we talk about the colors on the spectrum of light that we can see.For example, white light includes all colors on the spectrum. Similarly, white noise has all frequencies of sound in it that humans can hear.

Using colors to describe sounds comes from how we talk about the colors on the spectrum of light that we can see.

For example, white light includes all colors on the spectrum. Similarly, white noise has all frequencies of sound in it that humans can hear.

Some common examples of white noise are a running vacuum and television static. These sounds can be used to block out unwanted noises when people are trying to focus or sleep.

The problem with white noise is that all the frequencies come through at the same intensity. Human ears don’t really like high-pitched sounds, so white noise be annoying or even unpleasant for some people.

Pink noise tries to fix this problem. Pink noise still has all audible sounds, but the lower frequencies are amplified and the higher frequencies are diminished.

Is White Noise Good for Sleep?

Examples of Pink Noise

Many natural sounds are examples of pink noise, such as:

That said, not all natural sounds are pink noise. Sounds that emphasize low frequencies even more than pink noise are called brown noise. For example, thunder or the sound of a far-off waterfall are examples of brown noise.

14 Natural Ways to Fall Asleep

Can Pink Noise Help With Sleep?

There’s a lot of evidence that using sound to cover up background noises can help people sleep better, but most of that research was been done on white noise:

Research has suggested that pink noise can help with sleep, too. Pink noise might even boost memory since our memories are storedwhen we’re in deep sleep.

Here are a few examples of what studies have found about pink noise:

What Happens During Each Sleep Stage

Should I Listen to Pink Noise or Another Color?

Pink noise is just one of several noise colors. While people often refer to any noise that’s meant to mask background sounds as white noise, not all of those sounds are actually white noise. There are actually two more colors of noise: brown and blue.

Here are some of the benefits of each noise color:

Tips for Focusing If You Have ADHD

Can Pink Noise Be Harmful?

It’s not clear whether listening to pink noise (or any other color noise) can be harmful. Often, the worst thing that happens is that someone tries listening to pink sound and just finds that it “doesn’t do anything for them.”

However, we’re still learning about how white, brown, and pink noise might affect us, including whether it has benefits for focus and sleep or whether listening to it might have health risks.

While some research has suggested that people may sleep better with white noise, experts say that it may not benefit everyone. Some studies have shown that certain colors of noise might actually make sleep worse.

Whatever color you’re listening to, any noise can be harmful to youif it’s too loud. If you’re listening to any sounds (especially withheadphones) make sure that you’relistening at a safe, comfortable volumeand that you give your ears a break (for example, setting your noise app timing to shut off after you’ve fallen asleep).

How to Find a Pink Noise Machine

Many noise machine apps actually do have pink noise options even if they don’t specifically call it pink noise—for example, waves crashing on the beach or light rainfall.

The Best Sound Machines for Sleeping

Summary

Pink noise is one of the many “colors” of noise that some people use to help drown out background noise, improve their focus, or even help them sleep better.

There’s more research on white noise than other noise colors, but some studies have shown that pink noise might help with sleep and concentration.

You won’t know which noise color works best for you until you try them out. One of the easiest ways to see if pink noise works for you is to use a pink noise machine or app. If you’re not sure what your pink noise options are, look for sounds like waves crashing or gentle rainfall.

12 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Museum of Natural History.The Color of Light.

Sleep Foundation.Can pink noise help you sleep?

Messineo L, Taranto-Montemurro L, Sands SA, Oliveira Marques MD, Azabarzin A, Wellman DA.Broadband sound administration improves sleep onset latency in healthy subjects in a model of transient insomnia.Front Neurol. 2017;8:718. doi:10.3389/fneur.2017.00718

Pacheco D.What is white noise?The Sleep Foundation.

University of Pennsylvania.The Impact of Sleep on Learning and Memory.

Papalambros NA, Santostasi G, Malkani RG, Braun R, Weintraub S, Paller KA, Zee PC.Acoustic enhancement of sleep slow oscillations and concomitant memory improvement in older adults.Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Mar 8;11:109. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00109

Ong JL, Lo JC, Chee NI, Santostasi G, Paller KA, Zee PC, Chee MW.Effects of phase-locked acoustic stimulation during a nap on EEG spectra and declarative memory consolidation.Sleep Med. 2016 Apr;20:88-97. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2015.10.016

Zhou J, Liu D, Li X, Ma J, Zhang J, Fang J.Pink noise: effect on complexity synchronization of brain activity and sleep consolidation.J Theor Biol. 2012;306:68-72. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.04.006

Massachusetts Institute of Technology.“Pink noise”, memory, and sleep.

Capritto A.4 best noise colors to boost your sleep quality. CNet.

Riedy SM, Smith MG, Rocha S, Basner M.Noise as a sleep aid: A systematic review.Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2021;55:101385.

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?