Brown Noise: A Sleep Solution

We have five children in our household, and bedtime is loud. We needed a way to block out the background noise because Little Dumpling goes to bed first, and in the meantime, the rest of the house is still up…

• Banging doors.
• Running bath water.
• Children’s voices.
• Washing dishes.
• Doing Laundry
• Watching TV
• Whining.
• Barking.
• Giggling.
• Roomba-ing.

We bought a quality sound machine, and it was nice, but…

Our home is loony tunes at bedtime.

We needed something louder.

We needed something to tune out the sounds of the rest of the household that was still awake and loudly awake.

Hold on while I do some sleep-time algebra calculations.

“Healthy Sleep Habits: How Many Hours Does Your Child Need?” from the AAP at HealthyChildren.org provides the following recommendations for hours of sleep.

If everyone wakes up at 6:00AM, then…

Our Bedtime Routine Needed More Sound

Because he needs the most sleep, we start putting Little Dumpling, the two-year-old, to bed first, around 8:00PM. One at a time, the others settle in next. The toddler is tricky to get to sleep because (because he is a toddler!) even with the sound machine, he notices every little household sound. It seems as if he knows the rest of the house is still awake, having fun without him!

Toddler Sleep Solution

We bought a brown noise “tune” from iTunes, burned it to a CD, and played the track on repeat all night long.

During the chaotic bedtime, we play it at a loud-ish volume (not too loud) to tune out the other sounds of the house.

What even is brown noise? Well, it is like white noise but better.

The experts at WebMD offer this explanation.

“Brown noise, also called red noise, produces a rumbling sound that’s deeper with a bass-like tone than pink or white noise. The sound level (decibels) decreases as the frequency goes up more than it does in pink noise. It’s similar to a steady heavy rainfall or a shower with good pressure. Some sleep apps use this sound instead of pink noise to give it a deeper, grainier effect.
Studies show that brown noise might help lower symptoms if you have ringing in your ears. It’s also shown to improve your thinking skills.”

“White Noise, Pink Noise, and Brown Noise: What’s the Difference?” by Kara Mayer Robinson at WebMD

Happy Ever After Bedtime Routine

We have noticed that playing brown noise on a CD player makes a perfect background noise solution for Little Dumpling’s bedtime routine. The noises in our house do not wake him up or keep him from falling asleep anymore.

One at a time as the other children get tucked in …

• The TVs are turned off …
• Doors stop banging …
• Machines stop running…
• Voices start whispering…

When the house settles down around 9:00PM or 10:00PM, the volume is turned down to a much lower level, just loud enough to tune out little nighttime noises here and there, similar to a regular sound machine volume.

Conclusion

Brown noise is a funny name, but it’s awesome for blocking out household sounds. I highly recommend the sound machine, but if your zoo–I mean, home is especially loud during a baby’s bedtime, a possible louder solution is a basic CD player. Brown noise was a sleep solution for us. Maybe it can be for you too.

Further Reading:

How Many Hours Does Your Child Need?https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/healthy-sleep-habits-how-many-hours-does-your-child-need.aspx

“White Noise, Pink Noise, and Brown Noise: What’s the Difference?” by Kara Mayer Robinson at WebMD https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/pink-noise-sleep