Before becoming a parent, people would say, “Enjoy your sleep while you can.“ Im not a great sleeper, so I was dreading this aspect of parenthood. My sister had issues getting her firstborn to sleep until she discovered a video called “Happiest Baby On the Block“. Check it out - its fantastic. One of the things Dr Karp recommends is white noise. You can shush loudly, buy all sorts of machines, tune a radio to in between stations, download a white noise audio clip to your phone, or now you can use the super-simple and easy-to-use White Noise app.
So why would you use white noise?
- White noise reduces stress in babies. White noise helps babies block out all that new stimulation.
- White noise helps babies fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer. Babies have “sleep arousals” generally every 20-45 minutes. White noise helps babies get through these arousals fall back into deeper sleep.
- White noise helps babies cry less. Why do you shush a baby when they are crying? It works (sometimes). White noise is your shushing generator.
- White noise may reduce the risk of SIDS. A study found that babies had a significant reduction in the risk of SIDS if there was a fan in their room. No one knows precisely why this happens, but many believe its due to the white noise a fan makes. We do know that white noise reduces “active sleep“ (which is the type of sleep where SIDS is most likely to occur).
- White noise will help parents sleep. Who knew babies were such loud sleepers? White noise will help mask the grunts, gurgles and farts (the sound, not the smell) so you can sleep better. You can still hear them if they cry.
- Weaning babies off the sound is very easy. You do this around the 1-year mark by slowly decreasing the volume.
There have been quite a few articles and studies on white noise machines being too loud and damaging a babies hearing. The rule-of-thumb is that it should be as loud as a shower (if you are standing next to it, not under it). With the White Noise app, you turn the volume on your phone up and down until it is an appropriate level.
There are a few other apps available that allow you to play white noise, but they all have confusing play controls, too many options (your baby does not want to listen to a thunderstorm), show ads all over the place, and generally dont look good. The White Noise app does one thing - you open the app, and it starts playing (there is a timer, but you dont have to set that).
So now my little guy is eight weeks old, and Im getting more sleep than before he arrived. He is a great little sleeper. Is it the white noise or is it luck? I suspect it is a bit of both, but I suggest you try using white noise. I built this app for my wife an I, but I am sure many others will find it super useful. I hope you like it. For more information visit whitenoiseplus.com.