Ever since Nit's arrived, the playlists around the house have changed a bit from my/Neha's usual to now an incessant often times annoying hissing noise. Yup … white noise. We were told that white noise is good for babies and helps them sleep, so in our initial sleep deprived states we found some random 9 hour white noise track on Youtube, and that has been playing since. Last weekend, I got a bit curious. What type of noise is is actually good for a baby and why? Could I generate a few loop-able tracks myself using AI? So I decided to dig in and create a few tracks (downloadable links at the end). Enjoy.

For those not familiar, there is a wide spectrum of noises and they each serve their own purpose. For this post I'll cover white, pink and brown noises which based on my (not so PHD level) research seems to apply the most to babies.

White Noise: To help a baby go to sleep and stay asleep.

A 1990 study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood found that white noise effectively helped newborns fall asleep within five minutes and stay asleep longer. What makes white noise unique is that it has an equal amount of power at all frequencies, resulting in a flat spectrum. This means that it contains all audible frequencies, from the lowest to the highest. White noise can be described as a harsh, hissing sound, similar to the sound of television static.

Characteristics:

Frequency Spectrum: Flat

Sound: Harsh, hissing

Ideal BPM: 60-80

Bass: High

Treble: High

I decided to use AI (Stable Audio) to model my version of White Noise based broadly on the Dohm Classic, invented in 1962 and still sworn by generations today.

Pink Noise: To help calm babies.

A small study conducted in 2012 and published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology suggested that pink noise is effective at calming babies. A 2017 study published in the journal Sleep found that pink noise helped to reduce brain wave complexity, ie. helping the baby to relax. Pink noise is softer and gentler than white noise, with quieter high-frequency components. Pink noise has a power spectral density that decreases by 3 dB per octave, meaning that it has more power at lower frequencies and less power at higher frequencies. This results in a warmer, more soothing sound than white noise.

Characteristics:

Frequency spectrum: Decreases by 3 dB per octave

Sound: Warm, soothing

Ideal BPM: 40-60

Bass: Medium

Treble: Medium

To model my version of Pink Noise I played around with a few nature inspired concepts (rain, drops, etc), what seemed to work was rustling leaves along with the audio characteristics above.

Brown Noise: To help block out loud / irritating noises for babies.

Brown Noise, also known as Red noise, is deeper than both pink and white noise and is beneficial in masking higher frequency noises. I couldn't find much scientific literature regarding its specific effects on babies, except for a study published in the journal Developmental Psychology that found that babies who listened to brown noise for 30 minutes before bed performed better on cognitive tasks the next day. Regardless many parents on forums seem to swear by it. Brown Noise has a power spectral density that decreases by 6 dB per octave, meaning that it has even more power at lower frequencies than pink noise. This results in a deep, rumbling sound, similar to the sound of a thunderstorm or a heavy waterfall.

Characteristics:

Frequency spectrum: Decreases by 6 dB per octave

Sound: Deep, rumbling

Ideal BPM: 20-40

Bass: Low

Treble: Low

For my version of Brown Noise, I played around with thunderstorms and heavy waves, a combination that seemed to work well.

Final AI Generated Tracks

I added the final 3 tracks here, feel free to download them and loop them. Currently they are 45 sec clips in .MP3 format, if you would like the .WAV file happy to share those. Please reach out.

A few things to remember: The ideal volume should be about 50-60 decibels, please place the source of the audio at least 3 feet away from the baby's crib / location and always check with your doc if you're unsure.

Wishing all the noob parents out there good times and happy, well rested babies :)