4 ms·
> True white noise is the hissy fizzing sound of all the frequencies that humans can hear being fired off randomly and at the same intensity. In recent years, n
by cdubzzz 6y ago
> True white noise is the hissy fizzing sound of all the frequencies that humans can hear being fired off randomly and at the same intensity. In recent years, numerous apps and devices have been developed that use it – or other “relaxing” sounds such as the hum of a fan or crashing waves – to help people fall asleep.
The title of the article seems to be inaccurate in that it is discussing other sounds, _not_ “true” white noise, as doing potential harm. Or at least that was the sense I got from the few paragraphs I read before the site locked me out of the article...
- omnicognate 6y agoBrown noise is much nicer than white, especially if you apply an exponential smoothing to it (there are examples on youtube, look for smoothed brown noise). I attached a speaker to a raspberry pi and use its hardware random number generator to make that sort of noise. It's a pleasant, smooth rumble that I leave on all night. I certainly find it helps a lot (I'm prone to insomnia) and I'd be astonished if it's having any negative physiological effect.
- mint2 6y agoActually the title and the first half of the article is all misleading. Only near the very end does the actual thing the article is claiming become clear, and it’s still subtle. Basically it’s a terribly written article about a use case of white noise that I think is not the typical use case. The article appears to be about using white noise to fall asleep due to ones’ mental state, and not about white noise to cover up other disrupting sounds. It makes no sense to me that someone would cover it from that angle.