Pink Noise vs White Noise: The Differences

Published: May 11, 2021
Updated: Oct 16, 2024
Pink Noise vs White Noise: The Differences
In this article
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    3 min

    Have you ever wondered if the sound of raindrops is soothing and relaxing to you, or if those background noises can help you concentrate? It’s all about how they can affect your brain and how those sounds can help you from being distracted. This article will explain the difference between pink noise vs white noise and how they can be beneficial to your body.

    What Is White Noise?

    Pink Noise VS White Noise: What’s the Difference?

    White noise is likely something you’ve heard about before. It sounds similar to the static that used to exist on old televisions and radios when they didn’t tune into a channel.

    Since it is a set of random frequencies of sounds mixing together, people call this sound “white” noise, much as when all colors of light mix together, you get “white” light.

    Many people believe that hearing this noise in the background will help them focus, and there are even apps and dedicated devices that create sounds similar to this to help people concentrate or fall asleep.

    ShutEye®, for example, is a mobile app that has many relaxing nature sounds and calming music to help you sleep. My personal favorite is the mix function which allows you to mix multiple sounds to create your personalized sleep track.

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    What Is Pink Noise?

    Pink noise is a good alternative if you want something more pleasant to listen to. Pink noise decreases the number of high-pitched sounds, resulting in a sound with a slightly deeper overall tone.

    Many people agree that this sound aids concentration and helps sleep by reducing distractions while being much more enjoyable to listen to for long periods of time.

    what is pink noise

    White Noise vs Pink Noise

    The difference between white noise and pink noise is quite significant. White noise is a sound created solely by humans. It was designed to eliminate background noise.

    Pink noise is a sound frequency from nature. It doesn’t completely filter out all background noise, but it does so for the most part. Pink noise successfully relaxes and calms the mind. And it has been shown to aid sleep by many people who listen to it before bedtime.

    listening to pink noise vs white noise

    So these are the differences between pink noise vs white noise and how they can be beneficial to your body. If you’re the type of person who can’t seem to fall asleep in total silence, you may want to look into the benefits of white and pink noise to help you sleep better.

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    You may also like:

    8 Relaxing Sounds to Help You Sleep Better and Relieve Stress

    About authors
    Jessica Brown, a 29-year-old freelance copywriter passionate about human nature and deeply committed to promoting sleep and mental health awareness. Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Literary Studies from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor's in Biology from the University of Cambridge.
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