White noise can provide relief for light sleepers as it creates a consistent sound buffer between silence and distinct noises like a car horn or dog bark that could disrupt sleep and engage the brain. The less-engaging, repetitive sound of something like a fan helps the brain be less responsive to stimulation.
Often, having a 'standby' sound keep your brain company as you fall asleep is better than silence because silence is more easily and effectively broken with random sounds. When you have sounds playing, the interruption is less noticeable and may not interrupt your sleep at all.
Despite the potential issues, a fan still has its benefits. The white noise it produces often helps people sleep better, as it drowns out excess noise from outside. It is also clearly a good way to control the temperature of your room.
A cool, dark, quiet room may help you fall asleep and stay asleep more easily. It is essential to turn your bedroom into a sleep-friendly sanctuary, especially if you struggle with insomnia or sleep disturbances.
White noise may help people fall asleep faster and spend less time awake in bed when trying to sleep in a high-noise environment. Research suggests that sudden increases in noise are especially disruptive to sleep.
The main reason we rely on a trusty fan to get a good night's sleep is less about temperature and more about white noise. White noise essentially works to mask the difference between background sounds and “peak” sounds (such as an ambulance siren or a door slamming) to maintain more consistency in your environment.
Maintain a consistent room temperature.
Keep the temperature at a comfortable level (69F – 72F) and bundle up with blankets that can be shoved off if you begin to overheat. The humidity in the room is important too. Dry air can worsen your cold symptoms and parch your nose and throat.
For example, people generally only feel comfortable with a noise level of 30 – 40dB in a bedroom but will happily work in an open plan office with a noise level of 45 – 50dB. You would expect a background noise in a library to be around 30dB.
It's tempting to keep the white noise going through the night, but it's really not recommended. "Operate the infant sound machine for a short duration of time," Schneeberg advises. She recommends using a timer or shutting it off once your baby is asleep, provided you're still awake.
Though many experts find nighttime white noise to be a safe and effective treatment for restlessness, some studies have suggested that repeated use of white noise could be harmful to the body, especially for those who suffer from tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.
The fan is a cost-effective way to keep you cool during the hot and humid summer nights. But sleeping with the fan on may trigger congestion, dryness, sore muscles, or allergic reactions in some people. If you have allergies but sleep hot, try using air filters and humidifiers to reduce symptoms of allergies.
It was not uncommon for people to sleep on roof terraces in the open, with mats and thin mattresses laid out on floors or on cots. It can get cool after midnight and sometimes early mornings can be positively chilly. Homes built for heat sensitivity oriented their windows to catch the breeze.
Having a ceiling fan in the bedroom aids in better indoor airflow, as it cools down the room during warm seasons and helps bring down warm air during the colder seasons.
Many people like sleeping in a cool room, but don't make it so cold that you wake up shivering in the middle of the night. When you're feeling sick, you might want to consider raising the temperature a little, rather than letting the thermostat drop. Just don't forget to change it back when you're feeling better.
Why do I sleep better in a cold room? A cold sleeping environment helps lower your body temperature, making it easier to experience deep sleep. This is why you usually feel well-rested after sleeping in a cold room. Plus, lower temperatures help with melatonin production and better sleep quality.
When exposed to cold and dry air, the lining of the nose becomes irritated and inflamed, and it produces more mucus, resulting in nasal congestion. The excessive mucus drips into the throat and irritates it, causing a cough.
Americans also perform all kinds of rituals to get a good night's sleep. Top rituals include: sleeping with a fan or white noise machine (28 percent), taking a hot bath or shower before bed (26 percent) and reading a relaxing book (21 percent).
But there's also another reason, the noise. "For a lot of people, it's the fact that the fan creates white noise, which blocks out other noises," Sleep Health Foundation chair and sleep psychologist, professor Dorothy Bruck said. "White noise acts as a noise reduction and noise cancellation.
Probably this is about feeling more secure when people are around. Their presence and sound is like a comfort blanket. Instinctively we feel less secure and more vunerable when we sleep.
Silence is more “relaxing” for your body and brain than listening to music – as measured by a lowering of blood pressure and increased blood flow to the brain. Periods of silence throughout the day enhance sleep and lessen insomnia.
Studies show that brown noise can help induce sleep and relaxation, making it a strong fit for those struggling to fall asleep in noisy areas or drown out their own internal thoughts.
People with anxiety tend to be on high alert... The use of pink or brown noise may reduce their reactivity to those little sounds in their environment and support calming, sleep, or even concentration. The frequencies picked up in pink noise fall between white and brown noise and are also thought to aid in sleep.