Do you think a sound machine helps you sleep? It may be doing the opposite.
A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that listening to: pink noise at bedtime It can interfere with REM sleep (dream sleep) and restorative sleep.
The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that earplugs were significantly more effective at blocking out traffic noise while sleeping.
Simple nightly habits linked to healthy blood pressure, study suggests
According to a press release from Penn Medicine, the researchers conducted an eight-hour, seven-night sleep laboratory simulation on 25 healthy adults between the ages of 21 and 41.
Participants stated that they had never used noise to help them sleep and had never experienced any noise. sleep disorders.
During the experiment, participants were exposed to various sounds to sleep, including aircraft noise, pink noise, aircraft noise with pink noise, and aircraft noise with earplugs. Participants completed tests and questionnaires every morning to measure their sleep quality, alertness, and more. Health effects.
A study found that exposure to aircraft noise reduces the amount of time a person spends in the deepest stages of sleep by about 23 minutes compared to no noise.
Earplugs prevented this decline in deep sleep “to a significant extent,” the release states.
Expert reveals exact bedtime that may prevent late-night ‘second-wind’ insomnia
Fifty decibels of pink noise, similar to “moderate rainfall,” was associated with a reduction in REM sleep of almost 19 minutes.
The combination of aircraft noise and pink noise caused REM and deep sleep to be “significantly shorter” than on nights without noise. This combination also increased awake time by 15 minutes, but this was not observed with solo aircraft or pink noise.
Participants reported that their sleep felt “light” and of poor overall quality, and that they woke up more often when exposed to airplanes or pink noise than when there was no noise, unless they used earplugs.
Study lead author Matthias Basner, MD, professor of sleep and chronobiology in psychiatry, said REM sleep is important for “memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and sleep maintenance.” brain development. ”
Sleep doctor warns that forcing yourself to wake up early may harm your health
“Our findings suggest that playing pink noise and other types of broadband noise while sleeping may be particularly harmful. For kids Their brains are still developing and they spend much more time in REM sleep than adults,” he wrote in the release.
Bassner noted that it’s common for parents to place sound machines near newborns and infants with the “good intention” of helping them sleep.
For more health stories, click here
Pink noise had some positive effects, he said. Decreased deep sleep and sleep fragmentation caused by “intermittent” environmental noise.
“If a person’s primary sleep problem is a low amount of deep sleep or sleep fragmentation, pink noise may be beneficial overall for that person,” he said.
According to Penn Medicine, people go through periods of deep sleep and REM sleep many times throughout the night. Deep sleep is important because physical repairmemory consolidation and removal of toxins from the brain.
“Deep sleep and REM sleep complement each other to ensure you wake up in the morning feeling restored and prepared for the next day,” the release states.
Dr. William Lu, a San Francisco sleep expert and medical director of Dream Health, said these findings are an “important shift” from the sound machine trend.
“Pink noise may mask external disturbances, but it provides continuous stimulation that the brain still has to process,” he told FOX News Digital. “The most alarming finding is that we may be sacrificing some of our REM sleep without realizing it.”
Lu acknowledged that different types of noise may have different effects on sleep.
White noise is interpreted as “equal energy across all frequencies” and sounds like harsh radio waves, sleep experts said. Brown noise emphasizes low frequencies, resulting in a “deep, bass-heavy rumble” like distant thunder or a heavy waterfall.
Click here to sign up for our health newsletter
Pink noise also has more energy in the low frequencies, but is not as deep as brown, creating a “perceptually balanced” sound, like steady rain or wind.
”the study “We suggest that pink noise acts as a continuous auditory load that fragments and reduces REM sleep in particular,” Lu summarized.
Based on this type of research and data, experts said they do not recommend using sound machines as a “first-line” sleep aid in their own practices.
The researchers concluded that the effects of pink noise and other sleep aid sounds need to be more thoroughly studied.
“Overall, our results caution against the use of broadband noise in particular. newborns and infants“And it suggests that further research is needed on long-term use in vulnerable populations, the different colors of broadband noise, and safe broadband noise levels in relation to sleep,” Basner said.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, researchers noted that the FAA-funded study had limitations. These include the lack of research into the effects of prolonged use of pink noise on sleep.
The study was also relatively small, and the researchers had not yet looked at differences between individuals, Basner said.
Test yourself with our latest lifestyle quiz
“Until further research is done, if someone wants to use pink noise, we recommend doing so at the lowest volume level that still works for them. And if falling asleep is the main problem, we recommend setting a timer so that the machine or app stops after the subject falls asleep,” he advised.
“Also, general use should probably be discouraged.” [for] Newborns and infants are excluded until more information is available. ”
