Pink noise, a staticky sound that’s supposed to help people fall asleep, may actually worsen your rest, a new study found.Pink noise — like white noise — contains all the frequencies humans can hear, but it plays lower frequencies more prominently. Sounds that are used for different types of brain stimulation or relaxation are assigned a color based on how their noise spectrum matches with a colored light spectrum. White noise plays all frequencies at the same intensity, and white light combines all the visible light colors.Pink noise has been compared to sounds of rain and ocean waves. Research on its benefits for memory and sleep has been mixed.AdvertisementAdvertisementUniversity of Pennsylvania researchers conducted a seven-night sleep lab study involving 25 healthy adults, mostly younger women, to determine the effects of environmental noise, pink noise and earplugs on sleep quality. None of the participants had sleep disorders or regularly used ambient sound machines.Lights were out at 11 p.m. each night and participants were awakened at 7 a.m.During the sleep period, participants were exposed to either: no noise, environmental noise only, pink noise only, a combination of the pink and environmental noise at varying decibels, and environmental noise only with earplugs.The environmental noise ranged from traffic sounds to sonic booms.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen sleeping, the brain cycles through different stages, including light, deep and rapid eye movement, or REM. REM sleep is when dreaming occurs.The study, published Monday in the journal Sleep, found environmental noise mainly disrupted Stage 3 sleep, reducing it by 23.4 minutes on average. Stage 3 is the deepest sleep state and is important for cognitive function and memory.The study also found that pink noise reduced the time spent in REM sleep by 18.6 minutes, a crucial sleep stage for mood regulation and mental focus.Dr. Mathias Basner, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, said he didn’t expect pink noise to disturb sleep to that degree.AdvertisementAdvertisement“There h …
