The three rules. Keep it low. Keep the phone far from the crib, across the room. Keep it short, with a timer. The rest of this page explains why.
Why parents use steady sound
- It covers household noise. The dishwasher, a sibling, the street, the dog, the doorbell.
- It's a bedtime cue. The same soft sound at every nap and bedtime can become part of the routine.
- It travels. A hotel room or a grandparent's house sounds strange. A familiar sound makes it a little more like home.
- Parents use it too. On a night off, while the other parent has baby duty, some use it to sleep through the crying.
“the perfect sound to block out the cries of baby”
A new mother, in a YouTube comment on a brown noise video. About brown noise in general, not about our app.What the research says
In a 1990 study, newborns settled faster with white noise (Archives of Disease in Childhood, 1990). It was a small study of 40 newborns, and it only measured falling asleep.
Other research is about safety. In 2014, pediatric researchers tested 14 infant sleep machines at full volume. Measured 30 centimeters away, every one was louder than the 50-decibel limit hospitals use for nurseries, and three could get louder than 85 decibels. They recommend sound machines stay far from the crib, at low volume, for a limited time (Pediatrics, 2014). A 2024 review agreed: researchers recommend keeping sleep sounds at a low volume, especially for kids (Sleep Medicine, 2024).
Phones and apps can get loud too. So the tips below matter more than which color you pick.
Safety tips: volume, distance and time
- Keep the volume low. Hospital nurseries aim to stay under 50 decibels, about the level of a quiet conversation. Set it lower than you think. If you'd have to raise your voice to talk over it in the nursery, it's too loud.
- Keep the phone across the room. Never in the crib, on the mattress, or on the crib rail. Sound gets much louder up close. A dresser on the far side of the room is a good spot. Keep the charging cord well out of reach.
- Check the volume at the crib. Stand where your baby's head is. It should be soft there. You can check with a free sound meter app if you want a number.
- Use the sleep timer. Researchers suggest limiting how long it plays. Let it run while your baby settles, then let the timer fade it out. Brown Noise fades slowly over the last few minutes, so there's no sudden silence.
- Silence the phone. Turn on Do Not Disturb or airplane mode so calls and alerts don't ring out in the nursery. Brown Noise works in airplane mode and has no ads, so nothing else will play.
- Check it every time. Someone else may have turned it up since last night.
- Pick a soft color. Brown or pink noise has less high hiss than white, so it can do the job at a lower volume.
Brown Noise is not a medical device or a baby monitor. It doesn't replace safe sleep basics. For questions about your baby's sleep, talk to your baby's doctor.
Does my baby need it?
No. Many babies sleep fine without any noise at all. It's a tool some families like, not a must. If your baby sleeps well in a quiet room, there's no reason to add sound.
Common questions
Can it play all night?
Researchers suggest limiting how long sound plays for babies. Use the timer to cover falling asleep, rather than playing it all night.
White noise or brown noise for a baby?
No study compares them for babies. Brown and pink are softer on the ears, which makes it easier to keep the volume low. Try them on our web player, at low volume.
Why use an app instead of a sound machine?
You may already have the phone, and an app lets you set a timer and fade-out. Whatever you use, the same three rules apply: low, far and short.