Best White Noise Apps For a Good Night’s Sleep
Credit: Hernan Sanchez
Anxiety is a big issue that affects a lot of people in the world. Whether it's because of major events around the world or simply because of work or school, many of us feel stressed out almost all the time.
There are ways to fight stress and anxiety, although it can be hard to do it alone. The good news is that there's a relatively simple solution that might be very helpful: white noise.
White noise is a type of sound that uses different frequencies that humans can hear. At its core, white noise should be similar to a hush or static. However, the term is now used to describe other sounds that are constant and relaxing, such as rain or ocean waves.
While listening to this might sound weird or even silly, white noise can help you in many different aspects of your life. For instance, it can help you relax and reduce stress, sleep better, and even focus at work.
The best part is that you don't have to search the web for white noise sounds; you can use the App Store instead.
There are dozens of white noise apps for your iPhone, but read on for ten of the best to help you get started.
White Noise Lite
White Noise Lite is a great app that provides everything you need to listen to or create the perfect sounds.
For starters, the app comes with a large catalog with many options. You can listen to anything from frogs at night to a grandfather clock and even a heartbeat. All these sounds are perfectly looped, and you can even find and download more sounds for free.
Of course, if you're feeling a bit more creative, you can record your own sounds or use the Mix Pad editor to combine all your favorite sounds however you want.
White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds
The White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds app is a fantastic app for you and your kids.
You'll find many noises for little ones that will help them sleep better. For instance, the app comes with "whooshy" noises that can simulate the womb's environment, making it easier for them to fall asleep. These sounds could potentially block other environmental noises so they don't accidentally wake up.
Of course, this app also works for adults. You can use it for meditation, to improve your sleep, or to improve your focus.
There are over 30 free sounds that you can use freely and over 250 premium sounds that you can get if you want to subscribe to the app. And, of course, the app also lets you create a soundscape by mixing different sounds.
It also comes with other useful features, like a sleep timer so the sound doesn't play all night long and the ability to create schedules so your iPhone knows the exact day and time when it needs to play a sound.
Sleep Sounds by Sleep Pillow
Sleep Sounds features a bunch of different sounds, but where it shines is in its mixes. You can create your own mixes, and the app says there are over 300,000 different combinations you can make.
Besides the huge number of sounds available, the app also features high-quality images to help you set the mood. It also comes with a couple of useful features, including a sleep timer and an alarm clock so you can go to bed and wake up feeling relaxed.
Relax Melodies P: Sleep Sounds
Relax Melodies P is a pretty simple and basic app, but it'll get the job done. The first thing you'll notice about the app is that its design and user interface might feel a little outdated, especially when compared to other options on the list.
With that said, it's still a very useful app that features over 100 different sounds for a good night's sleep. And just like other options on the list, you can also create your own soundtrack by mixing different sounds before you go to bed.
What's cool about this app is that you can find many different sounds and melodies created by other users. It's got a community tab where you can download sounds created by people like you.
If you want other things to help you relax, the app offers different types of guided meditations that you can take individually or use in one of the programs to help you build a better habit.
Atmosphere: Relaxing Sounds
As you can guess by its name, Atmosphere is a really useful app for setting the right mood before going to bed.
The app has more than 70 different sounds, some of which are natural while others are artificial. It also has different environments and specific sounds for each one. For instance, you can check forest or beach-related sounds.
The app also lets you mix different sounds together and control the volume of each sound so you don't accidentally wake yourself up.
Additionally, besides going to bed with Atmosphere, you can also use it to wake up. This app has an alarm feature that lets you use relaxing sounds to wake up on the right side of the bed.
White Noise HQ: sound machine
White Noise HQ is a pretty straightforward app for those of us who just want to listen to sounds with nothing of the extra stuff.
The app comes with more than 200 different recordings, and you can create different mixes with the six sounds available. Of course, if you just want to listen to something different, you can also download over 75 new sounds at no extra cost.
The app also works in the background, so you can use it while you're listening to other sounds or an audiobook.
BetterSleep: Relax and Sleep
When it comes to relaxing sounds, BetterSleep is one of the best apps for the job. It's one of the most popular apps to improve your sleep, and a good reason.
Besides white noise and other relaxing sounds, the app also comes with green noise, which helps people with Tinnitus, and brown noise, which will help you "massage your brain," as the app puts it.
Besides having a huge catalog of over 300 different sounds, the app comes with over 100 Sleep Tales that will help both kids and adults go to bed feeling more relaxed.
The app also helps you learn about the science behind sleep. It comes with a built-in sleep recorder so you can identify when you snore, move around, or sleep talk.
Calm
Calm is another excellent app, not just for sleeping but also for living a healthier and calmer lifestyle.
The app is great for helping you deal with anxiety because it comes with many different songs and sounds that will help you meditate or sleep better. It also has a bunch of different stories so you or your kids can go to bed more easily.
Besides helping you sleep, Calm also lets you relax with its daily mindfulness minutes. It also comes with guided meditations and breathing exercises.
If you want a little more from the app, it also offers different programs for every experience level. These classes and programs are developed by experts, and they can help you deal with anything from anxiety to diet.
Bonus: Don't Download an App; Use Your iPhone Instead
Whether you don't want to download another app or you just don't have enough storage anymore, you can use your iPhone instead.
Believe it or not, your iPhone comes with a handful of different white noise sounds that you can start using right now. This is how you turn it on:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
- Scroll down again, and under Audio & Visual, tap on Hearing.
- Go to Background Sounds.
- Turn on Background Sounds.
And that's it. Your iPhone will start playing the default white noise sound. Of course, you can tap on Sound and choose which type of sound you want.
While this is useful, it's not the best way to listen to white noise. You can't control this feature outside of the settings app, so you'll need to repeat the same steps repeatedly. Also, even if you have a sleep timer turned on, the sounds will continue playing until you pause them manually.
Still, this is a great option if you're feeling stressed and need some relaxing sounds to calm down.