My Night Light has been going now for almost 10 years, which is AMAZING, so a HUGE thank you to all my wonderful customers!
During that time, I have received so many emails and phone calls from desperate, sleep deprived parents willing to do just about anything to get their baby or child to sleep! I actually know exactly how they feel as the reason I started My Night Light was because my son would not sleep at ALL until I introduced a night light to his room.
But for some babies and children a simple night light is not enough, they need sounds or noise to help them to sleep. To coincide with the release of our fab, newDuski Sleep Aids, I recently wrotea blogabout the different apps you can use to stream sounds and music. I thought I’d take things one step further and look at why some children need noise to soothe them at night and the different types of noises available.
Why do some babies and children need noise at night?
When a baby is in your womb it’s actually REALLY noisy! They get used to the sound of blood rushing through the placenta (which is louder than a vacuum cleaner!!) and the total quiet of their nursery can be a little scary and stressful. Not at all what you would think right?!
Noise also gives a baby or child something to focus on, which helps them to relax. Whilst we might find the soothing sounds of nature relaxing, some babies and children will fall asleep listening to white noise, but what is white noise?
White Noise
White noise is similar to static from a television or radio. By definition, white noise is a sound that contains every frequency within the range of human hearing in equal amounts. It is said to resemble the sounds that a baby hears in the womb. This is of course a familiar calming sound which helps them drift off to sleep. (everything crossed!)
In fact a white noise and sleep induction study published by the National Library of Medicine in the USA (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1792397/) found that out of 20 babies tested, 16 fell asleep within 5 minutes in response to white noise. – I wish I had known this 10 years ago!!
What is Pink Noise
Pink noise, like white noise will block out external sounds and is a non-descript ongoing sound. The main difference between the two is that pink noise moves between high and low frequencies to mimic nature sounds like the sea or rainfall, whereas white noise is like static that stays at the same intensity. Some people have found that pink noise leads to a more restorative and stable sleep by reducing brain wave activity. There has not been as much research conducted regarding pink noise so it’s hard to say exactly how effective it is.
Which is best?
Sounds have been proven to help babies sleep, so in our opinion, start experimenting and see what works best for your child (and you!). Once you work that out, get yourself an app that will play these sounds and stream them.
It’s really important to remember that every child and baby is different. What will work for one, may not work for another.
What sound works best for your child?