8 Comments

Thank you for sharing this research as I know it is a question being brought to child care classrooms and homes across the country. The recommendations you share make it easy for parents and providers to put the information to use immediately.

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Super informative!

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When I used to travel frequently for work, I had trouble sleeping in hotels due to all the random noises (ie. Slamming doors, people talking loud in the hallways, etc...). I found an app that plays a lot of different sounds, including the different colors you mentioned.

At first, I used pink noise, but I found it to be a little too high pitch still. I heard about brown noise (years before TikToc was a thing), and I absolutely love it. It’s just a little lower than pink, and to me it sounds very similar to a waterfall or steady rain.

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I have heard that people love brown noise! I wish there was more research on it!

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This was super informative - I didn't even know it was a controversial subject. We happily use a white noise machine.

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I have for all 3 of my kids too! So glad you found it informative!

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I love this info! I help parents with sleep support for infants and toddlers and I actually don't recommend it as a necessity. I think it tends to be marketed as something that will keep your baby sleeping but it won't stop them from waking if they need to feed/change etc. I used it sporadically for my babies in the first couple of weeks if they needed help settling but I didn't keep up with it. They are able to block out noises well because that's what they are used to. I actually think it can be a useful tool to add in later on when toddlers go through regressions. If they are reluctant to go to bed, adding in noise or even lullabies can be a really helpful change in their environment to get them comfortable again at bedtime.

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Thank you for the work you do with families. I agree that it is a decision that a parent should make individually for each child as everyone's needs are different. And what works for one might not work for another. It is also something that might only be needed at certain times of the year or life cycle.

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