All sounds

White noise for studying and work

Equal energy at every frequency: the hiss of a detuned radio. It is the noise the research uses, and the one most people find too bright after a while. Try it against brown noise below.

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What you are hearing

White noise carries the same energy at every frequency. Because hearing is most sensitive in the middle of the range, it feels bright and, at volume, sharp. It is the reference against which pink and brown are defined.

The study people mean

Söderlund, Sikström and Smart (2007) played white noise to children with and without ADHD during a memory task. Children with ADHD did better with noise; children without did worse. The proposed mechanism, stochastic resonance, is that a nervous system running at low arousal benefits from added input. Later work has been mixed, and nearly all of it is with children. It is interesting, not a prescription.

Practical use

White noise is the strongest masker for high-pitched intrusions: a kettle, a printer, keyboard clatter. For speech, brown noise does the same job at a kinder level. Keep white noise low; it is the colour most likely to tire you.

Söderlund, Sikström & Smart (2007), Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(8).

Questions

Is white noise good for concentration?
It masks distraction, which helps. Whether it improves attention on its own is unsettled; the best-known study found it helped children with ADHD and hindered others.
Why does white noise sound harsher than brown?
Because it has as much energy at 8,000 hertz as at 80. Your ears are more sensitive to the high end, so the same overall level feels louder and sharper.
Can I mix white noise with rain?
Not yet in one tab; layering is on the list for members. For now, pick one and set the volume by ear.