I've been using white noise for decades to help me sleep. It works by masking outside sounds that might otherwise wake me up, like a dog barking or car horns, etc. Calling it noise is a misnomer since noise implies sound that is unpleasant or disruptive. Noise apps on phones offer many different "colors" of noise, and it's worth experimenting to see which work best for you. 👍

I suffer from a sound related processing disorder which can cause extreme anxiety and I love my DOHM noise machine. Super simple design, hyper adjustable to drown out specific pitches of sounds. Road noise from big trucks, mocking birds singing all night outside the window, neighbors' music heard through the walls on a Saturday night, kids playing and shouting in fun, it drowns out the sounds and that allows me to rest and relax without my overactive brain needing to identify what and where every shred of sound might be. Saved me from raving madness.

My parents used one for years. I have used one for over 50 years. I used to work at night, and it helped when I had to sleep during daylight hours when traffic and wildlife noise was loudest. I can sleep without it now, but it's become a good habit - IMO.

I’m not sure why the interviewer had to act so incredulous about white noise. Like many commenters here, I used white noise for decades to sleep. It would have been much more interesting to hear about the different types of noise: white, pink, brown, blue and why different frequencies work. Seems to me the question of “does white noise work?” was resolved a LONG time ago. And while some people use fans, some buy white noise machines, there is also a lot online these days. A well charged tablet or phone can play a whole host of white noise sounds for the entire night: fans at different frequencies, forest sounds, babbling streams, rushing rivers, falling rain, ocean surf, back ground soft coffee shop noises…..whatever works for someone.

I worked at Hammacher Schlemmer in midtown Manhattan for 12 years and our number one seller consistantly was the white noise machine. Even after the customer moved to a more quiet neighborhood they still utilized the white noise machine as it helped them get to sleep, a lullaby for adults and babies too.

Listening to 8 hours of lectures on quantum physics works for me to get and return to sleep.

I use blackout drapes, a white noise machine, an oscillating fan, foam earplugs, and a sleep mask. There are numerous free white/pink/brown noise recordings on KZfaq. I've downloaded a few, ripped the audio, and copied it to my iPod for use when traveling.

exactly....the fan noise does help me!!

The heat beat is for newborn babies. Especially for the underdeveloped, like premature newborns that are used to hearing the heat beat, and didn't get the full 9 months of it.

They work great. Spotify has a bunch of free sleep sounds that go for 12 hours with no ads. I like the creaking wooden ship. I listen to it every night.

Lived in a busy part of Queens and experienced noise...Shocker!

I bought white noise machines during the pandemic for more privacy while on work calls at home. Now I keep it by my front door to better mask any noises that could be heard from inside the apartment. Thankfully, my building was built with concrete and lots of soundproofing, so it is already quiet.

My inexpensive air filtering fan is just perfect for this purpose. Plus it pulls dust out of the air.

The pink noise machine sounded more calming somehow - I will try to find one. I've tried a white noise machine and it was too loud for me personally. The sounds of nature are healing and the excessive sounds of machinery create more stress in our modern world environment.

My grandson (6 yrs old) loves his machine... especially the stream or rain sounds

No cats purr is the way to go

Missed pink noise is the inverse of what you hear, essentially noise cancelation. I first came across this in a Herman Miller in the 90's as I was looking for active sound canceling in recording rooms that we had in a moderately noisy environment.

We have two houses and the one we live in currently is downtown and the constant noise keeps me up. So we've decided to move back to our house in the country just so we can have some peace and quiet. It's further away from everything but I don't care its worth it. I've slept with a fan on most of my life and when I don't have it I can't sleep or not as well. No matter how cold it is I have to sleep with my fan on.

In New York City I carry around a little mp3 player (connected to earbuds) on which I play "brown noise" - a kind of low-frequency waterfall-like sound - that drowns out the voices of many who constantly chat into their phones, among other intrusive sounds. In the bedroom a microsystem stereo does the honors. It makes a big difference in the quality of my life.

Without a doubt...white noise helps. I adopted one of these machines full time where I can no longer sleep in silence. It sends me into a must deeper sleep.

I got a sound machine and it's just wonderful.

What it does is it gives our brain the chance to relax because it's a repetitious down so we don't need to be listening for anyting

Does white noise work? Me, after 45+ years of using it: yes.

Even better to pair a white noise machine with Ear Plug. It’s astounding how deep my REM sleep is even when sleeping near a busy city street.

I’ve been to LA many many times and to New York once but I’ll go again this year to NY

Does the constant sound of a white noise machine also trigger the stapedius muscle to pass less energy from the eardrum to the inner ear, essentially turning down the ear's "gain" so it's less sensitive to the more sporadic environmental sounds that tend to pop up throughout the night? In other words, is it not just psychology and brain processing, but also physiology playing a role in white noise's efficacy?

I like the ocean sounds. ❤

I use a cheap fan from walmart my whole life even when its cold. I go insane without it on

Warning: I have used these for most of my life and they help me sleep. They have also ruined my hearing; if I’m in a place that has any background noise (restaurant noise, street noise, kitchen or any other noise), I am essentially deaf to hearing the person right next to me. I’ve had my hearing checked and my hearing is perfect - it is something about how the white noise machines have affected my brain and ability to hear anything else when background noise exists.

I can't sleep during the night, because i live next to a freeway & all the intermittent noises are so pronounced yet impossible to sleep thru. So i have to sleep in the day time, so other noises blend in with. BUT, i still couldn't do that without my white noise, my STATIC sound, often called the "waterfall' - noise. I don't know if i could sleep now, if i had to give that up?!

I've been listening to a lot of ambient music, since I was in middle school, and sometimes adding other unique sounds, has been one of my favorite pastimes of sleeping comfortably. Makes me feel like I'm sleeping in a jungle (where it doesn't feel dangerous) or a forest. The sounds of Enya, Ken Elkinson, Vangelis, and the late Angelo Badalamenti, have been some of my most memorable musicians, in which their music helps me relax or fall asleep. You can't miss out on them, ever, and many more.

My husband's cpap machine makes white noise. Waaaay better than the sound of his snoring!

I had one that was perfect, when it stopped working, I tried 2 or 3 more of the exact brand, but they were never as good as the first one 😢 With some of the other sounds, I can tell if they are repeticious, I hate those.

Love mine ❤!

My father worked trick work 60 years ago and when working nights always kept a large fan on when sleeping during the day. But us kids could still manage to wake him up. Poor Dad.

Someone not me but someone had a very good quality white noise machine with the sound of a rushing stream of water and it was wonderful. Would fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer but sometimes that someone would wet the bed which was just awful. 😉

I really enjoyed this one. Where can I buy one of these machines??? Not an app, the actual machine please? 😃

Used them for years. Very effective.

0:03 Yes.

I used white noise to sleep, but since I moved to a new place, the walls are so paper thin that I'd have to turn up the white noise quite loudly, and that would negate the effect. So I just use earplugs now, they work great. Noise pollution is horrible, I envy the people that have no issues falling asleep in noisy places 😅

Im 38 and have had tinnitus (ringing in the ears) for 30 years and I sleep with a fan otherwise I don’t sleep well, I don’t like silence, so even it I’m reading or on the computer I will have light music or a fan going. I don’t have any hearing loss but sometimes I miss what people are staying if they are not facing me. It’s like trying to hear someone talking over another noise all the time. I feel for people that develop tinnitus later in late, it drives them crazy! And there is no treatment!

0:26 Couldn't they find newer ambulance stock footage? This one looks like it's from the 90's 😆

He’s right. White noise helps me so much

"Im not even gonna try to guess what that is" hahahaha

Does anyone know of a white noise device that uses batteries or has a chargeable feature? All of the ones I have found have to be plugged in to function.

Cuts out sound but still wont drown out the suicidal thoughts keeping me up every night

White noise puts me to sleep. Riding in a vehicle, fans, rain, old 'snow' noise from analog TVs.

I’ve used a white noise generator for many years, and it eliminates snoring. Not sure why. I also use an app that will record ambient noise while sleeping. With the use of the white noise generator, I found a more peaceful sleep.

Think of a Bee Hive, always buzzing

I have created my channel with sounds and music that help not just me, but other people too.

Been using white noise machines for a decade...they are incredibly effective!

I’m glad they bothered to do a study, they could have just asked me! Two decades I’ve been just loving my Sound+Sleep machines. Got the idea when I worked at this law firm in 1998 that had a white noise system in the building, to make conversations even more private and secure. We have a couple at the house and one for travel (a MUST have for travel!!!). Especially if you live in a city it will change your life.

Funny. I used to play a rainy storm on a loop on my phone.... but I switched to fans and does the trick and an added bonus of a cool breeze.... (I was already writing this when they said...fans.)

Before I even watch this, I’m going to say YES from my personal experience.

I just say “Alexa, play Nature Sounds’., and then ‘play box fan’. Works great.

I’ve been sleeping with a box fan for 22 years and can confidently say I sleep soundly (give or take)

I work shift work…. Sleeping during the day for a week every month. It’s the only way I sleep during the day. My wife and I both have one and when we travel, it makes sleeping in new places much easier…

I've been trying various sound masking techniques for years, including a loop of a purring cat. My current fave is to run something through my smart speaker called 'brown noise'. It sounds like a jumbo jet mid-flight, and not, despite the name, some dudes farting.

Use it every night. Works!

Pink noise is the best I think, especially if you're relatively young. I'm 36 and can still hear the 'teenager tone' and I'm worried that subjecting myself to anything above a few thousand hertz over an extended amount of time is (probably) bad for my ears. *I'm not an audiologist, seek a professional if you're concerned

I once had a nightmare situation with a neighbor that was just a total nightmare, without 2 DOHMS, I would have not made it.

A small fan works wonders for me

Try living directly across from the cable car museum/barn in SF. Late at night they'd bring the cars up Jackson and let them roll by gravity thundering into the barn entrance. Which would shake the whole apartment -- over and over. One night right after the last had bedded down, we shook one extra time. Earth quake.

I have been using what iwas originally the Dohm machine by Marpac ever since boarding school in 2008. I am currently on my third one. I used it throughout college, when I had roommates, and now I live in an apartment . It helps with external sounds in the neighborhood or in the building. I also have obstructive sleep apnea and autism, so falling a sleep can be a challenge for me. I recommend the Dohm sound machine.

Never saw those machines in My Dimension before I ascended - Fun Fact: I still got my Munich apartment that I don't pay for including the physical key where I can come and go as I please - never singed any kind of contract - (except with Alien Species for Diplomacy) and I even discovered - My German Passport Quantum Jumped with me to this new Dimension and is now A Vril Passport . Since I'm an Indian Goddess and spent a lot of time (10 years in my earth incarnation) in Japan - I basically Own the Planet - but I decided to take it from grass root levels and build up my Real Estate Empire from Ampuriabrava, Spain (not Empuriabrava - but the one in a parallel higher dimension. *-^

I use a fan

I don’t know what the science says but my two very real children ages 7 and 1, sleep great with the sound machine. Otherwise they’d be too alert/distracted by our voices and sound coming from the next room.

I just listen to binaural rain sounds using my smartphone. Totally helps me sleep longer and quicker.

There’s many YT channels that have sounds to help you sleep.

Brown noise. The best.

Helps with tinnitus

Use it with the smart phone because I have ringing in my ears when everything is silent. Don‘t other people do this?

Would never be without my white noise machine.

How does she not know what a heart beat sounds like?

I have used white noise on YT for decades. When I need more the orange foam ear plugs go in snd the white noise turned up. 🤓

And he needed to write a paper about this? We have always known this!

What Is Wrong With Our Society Today? If we viewed human society a single live organism, then what would we see? We would see that, in its current state of development, its immune system is barely working, and its cells and organs, which should be sustaining the body’s health, are deteriorating. Personal, social, economic and ecological problems are all on the rise, including depression, stress, loneliness, emptiness, anxiety, xenophobia, drug abuse, suicide, income equality, poverty, climate change, and although many people are trying to patch and treat these problems, the efforts fail to solve the problem at its overarching cause. What is the cause of all problems in human society? It is the human ego, i.e., the innate calculative mechanism in human nature that prioritizes self-benefit over benefiting others, which makes society’s individual “cells” each pull to themselves more than giving to others, bringing on the downfall of the entire organism of human society. As cancer takes place when cells take more than they need at the expense of the body, so our society is currently made up of egoists each guided by an enveloping egoistic paradigm that supports the idea of success as becoming individually wealthy, famous and powerful. That we are egoists is a nature-given situation, but the social influence and public opinion that supports egoistic goals and values is what’s wrong with society. Nature functions oppositely to the human ego: altruistically and according to laws of interconnection and interdependence. It thus rejects our growing ego, and the more we develop today, the more we feel pressured between our growing ego that wants to detach from others, and nature’s tendency to connect us all into a single whole. Therefore, the more we develop today, the more we enter into an increasing entanglement of complications, and it is all in order to bring us to the realization that our egoistic nature stands behind all of our problems, that it is an inherently evil quality, that we helplessly follow its demands to try and fill it with self-aimed pleasure at the expense of others time and again, and that any move to improve society requires first diagnosing the ego as the cause of all our problems. Then, when we reach a widespread realization of this common cause to all our problems, we can start fixing it. When we reach such an awakening, we will realize that there is no person, group of people, or political or religious orientation to blame for our problems. There is only our very egoistic nature, dwelling in each and every one of us. How can we then correct human nature, if it is the cause of all our problems? It is possible if we create an environment that supports the ego’s correction, so that instead of receiving for self-benefit alone at the expense of others, we would want to positively contribute and connect to others in order to benefit them, without any “What will I get out of it?” intent. It is against human nature to give and contribute to others, but if we changed public opinion, our social and media influences, and also our education, in order that we learn the nature of humanity’s increasing interdependence today, how the human ego opposes our growing interdependence and also why this is the cause of all our problems, and that the way to resolve our myriad problems today is by correcting our connections to each other-creating an environment that supports giving and contributing to society, prioritizing values of mutual consideration and responsibility over competitive and individualistic ideas of success-then we would be on course to a monumental positive social transformation.

I have loud tinnitus 24/7. Can't sleep without a loud fan.

I sleep with white noise because in London if I don't then all I hear are stabbings and loud music

I like brown noise .

UMMM I use my White Noise app every time I fall asleep. Every time! Well, to be 1000% honest I sleep to Green Noise. It's my favorite

White noise + ear plugs = 👍🏻😴

KZfaq premium…. No adds and hundreds of different types. Including high and low frequency type. Downloaded to your phone or streaming. 😁

For me, the machine needs to be a distance away, not right next to my bed.

As a Christian, Im under constant audio assault from the enemy. My white noise machines block out the haters just enough to sleep.

I'll never use one because it has the word white in it and white isn't diverse enough for me.

I just prefer quite and nature’s sound. There are apps for your tablets and phones, much cheaper.

Only time I wake up is if the power goes off and my fan doesn’t work.

Get rid of straight piped motorcycles and loud pickup trucks that serve no purpose other than to annoy everyone in the neighborhood.

Yes they are effective. Trust me.

We use white noise in our baby room at school.i tnink it is the consent sound that does the trick! Aiso witholder kids peaceful calm music. Me to at home!!!!!!!!!!!

Brown Noise gang

i think fans are the best noise cancel

an old school box fan is the best white noise machine.........$19.99

The only documentary sort to say I like out of the entire family , the rest was just hollow worth...I don't care if it talked about richness..

!!! Don 't buy a speaker white noise people instead try one that actually create the white noise with blades such as the one that is shown in this documentary at @1:53 or the brand "marpac". you ll thank me later

Sadly, you can never drown out narcissists. 🤢

Pathetic we have to create noise to drown out noise.

Next up: does pornography work?

Huh? What?