Pink noise: what is it and what are its benefits?

You’ve probably heard of white noise at some point. White noise is constant and random, like the sound of rain or the crashing of ocean waves. But what about pink noise? Does this concept sound familiar to you?

In this article we will learn what this other type of noise color consists of, and how is it different from white noise. In addition, we will talk about some of its benefits, according to science.

Pink noise: what is it?

When we talk about noises we can also talk about their colors. What does this mean? That any noise (just as sounds) is characterized by a wavelength, and this is associated with a certain color. In the case of pink noise, it is a noise with less amplitude for high frequencies; That is, the sound decays as the frequency increases.

Differences with white noise

Pink noise is not too different from white noise. This translates into the following: both this color noise and white noise are two types of noise that contain all the frequencies audible to humans. The frequencies of these noises range from 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz.

Let us remember that hertz (Hz) are used as a measure of the pitch of a sound, that is, they allow us to discriminate its frequency (to what extent a noise is low or high pitched).

Going back to the types of noises, white noise has the same hertz power across all frequencies, while in the case of pink noise, power per hertz decreases as frequency increases. This results in the following: The lower frequencies in pink noise are louder and have more power or intensity than the higher frequencies.

Examples of pink noise

Most people perceive the sound of this noise color as a uniform, flat sound. An example of this would be the sound of rain that we have previously passed through a filter to gradually remove the high frequencies.

The result: a more balanced and natural sound. Additionally, pink noise is present in many natural systems. Some examples of these are heart rate or traffic flow.

And what about white noise?

White noise, although similar in some characteristics to pink noise, is different from it. Although we have seen its most notable difference, we are now going to define what white noise is. According to National Sleep Foundation, White noise is any constant, random sound that masks other sounds.

During the night, white noise helps us sleep; An example of this would be the sound of a fan, sea waves, rain… That is, a sound whose spectrum is flat in frequency and that does not have any “special” characteristics.

What are the benefits of pink noise?

This type of noise is used, for example, to test and equalize speakers in adults and rooms. Furthermore, in recent years its use (and effectiveness) in work environments has also become popular, in order to mask low-frequency background sound. In this sense, it has been proven how this action can promote work productivity and make employees more focused.

Promotes sleep

This type of noise also has other applications, and it is a noise that can affect people’s sleep. In relation to this, 50 people were recruited in an experiment; Some were exposed to pink noise and others were not, during sleep.

The results showed the following: 75% of participants exposed to pink noise reported more restful sleep, compared to subjects not exposed to it. However, there is more; Participants exposed to pink noise during sleep had a 23% increase in the amount of stable sleep (this being the most restorative), compared to unexposed participants.

What explanation do these results have? Sound plays a key role in synchronizing brain waves and brain activity, and this is true even when we sleep. How does pink noise work here? Decreasing and regulating brain waveswhich translates into obtaining a more restful sleep.

Improve memory

And pink noise is not only beneficial for sleeping well, but also for a cognitive function that is “consolidated” during sleep: memory. In relation to this, a study developed by researchers from the Department of Neurology of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine of Illinois (USA) showed that sleeping with pink noise improves memory.

The study results also indicate that pink noise is more effective for this cognitive function than white noise. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. As we have seen, according to recent research, the most interesting benefits of pink noise is that it appears to be able to improve memory during sleep, while facilitating more restful sleep. In addition, it is a “color” of noise that also improves productivity and concentration.

Continuing to investigate this and other colors of noise will allow us to know in much more detail how environmental stimuli influence our behaviors, including sleep and other types of habits.

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