White Noise, Green Noise: Understand how sound noises act in the brain

The growing concern with sleep quality and its impacts on people’s health was what moved the recent popularization of sound noise. The tactic, consecrated among the most frequent sleep hygiene tips, indicates that the patient listens to a playlist of some of the sound noises – White Noise, Pink Noise, Green Noise or Brown Noise – so he can get faster in sleep.

The same is also true for those who are easier to sleep listening to the noise of rain, or listening to the noise caused by air conditioners and fans. Check out a series of tips for good sleep hygiene.

The strategy has been effective precisely because these sounds serve to disguise the noise of the environment, which may, for example, from inconvenient neighbors or the traffic of more chaotic cities. Listening to sound noise playlists, the amount and variety of noise absorbed by the brain decreases, which helps increase relaxation and induce sleep.

“White noise machines work through a process called sound masking or noise masking,” said Michael Grandner, who runs the University of Arizona School of Medicine Sleep and Health Research Program.

“They create a sound cloak around you that absorb other sound waves, so that small creeps, cracks and cars passing don’t reach your brain and you don’t respond to them,” Grandner said.

Another reason why white noise or other sounds can induce sleep is that they have become part of the “sleep ritual”, those nocturnal habits that train the brain to rest.

“Plush bears do nothing, but help people sleep, they become a conditioned stimulus,” said Grandner. “White noise is the same thing-if someone turns on every night, becomes a habit, something that falls asleep every day.”

Sound noises also serve to maintain sleep

In an interview with CNN researcher at the Sleep Institute and Pulmonologist Luciana Palombini explained that sound noise also helps to ensure a good night’s sleep, as external noise can hinder brain functions during rest.

“Noises hinder the quality of sleep and sometimes the person doesn’t even wake up, but it already has a superficial sleep.people who have more sensitive sleep, with the threshold of the lowest awakening. Any little thing hinders sleep, ”said the doctor.“ The person usually knows this. The neighbor walks and she already wakes up. ”

Effects of noise work from person to person

According to Palombini, the action of noise is quite individual, each having presented different effects on different people. The tip, according to her, is testing until you find what works best according to your needs.

“It also enters an individual preference, because the intensity of the tones and frequencies between these different noises will vary little. The person has to see what makes them relax more, ”said the sleep researcher.

Each noise color has frequency and its own characteristics, interacting with the brain in different ways.

Sound noises don’t solve anything alone

Sound noises, such as White Noise and Green Noise, can help improve sleep quality, but they are just a small portion of a group of essential behaviors for those who should sleep better.

THE CNN Palombino explained that it is important that all sleep hygiene is respected. That is, that its own relaxation ritual is created.

“The beginning of sleep is a combination of noise, but it has the whole issue of sleep hygiene. Remove the phone one hour before bed, decrease white lights, stimulating substance, work activity. If you put one of these noises and your sleep is difficult to start sleep, you probably have several other aspects in the routine that the person who should change,” he said.

“The issue of sleep is the routine in 24 hours, as the person organizes their day of day,” he said.

*With information from CNN International

Expert: White Noise improves sleep, but does not solve anything alone

This content was originally published in White Noise, Green Noise: Understand how sound noises act in the brain on CNN Brazil.

Source: CNN Brasil