White Noise Generator
White noise has equal energy at every frequency. Because hearing groups frequencies by octave, and each higher octave holds twice as many frequencies, white noise sounds bright and hissy, like an untuned radio or a fan on high.
Generated live in your browser, sample by sample, so it never loops. Keeps playing while you browse this site.
When white noise helps
Best for masking speech and sharp sounds, such as office chatter or a snoring partner, because it has plenty of energy in the 1–4 kHz range where consonants live.
What the research says
A 2021 systematic review in Sleep Medicine Reviews (Riedy et al.) rated the evidence that continuous noise improves sleep as low quality. It helps some people by masking disruptive sounds; it is not a sleep treatment in itself. Keep volume modest: the American Academy of Pediatrics advises infant sound machines stay well away from the cot and under 50 dB.
Using it well
- Set it just loud enough to cover the sound that bothers you, no louder. For all-night use, aim for the level of a quiet conversation or below.
- Put a phone speaker across the room rather than by your head; the sound is more even and quieter at your ear.
- Want a tone too? Open the studio and add white noise under a binaural beat.
Compare: pink noise, brown noise.
Why the colours sound different
Energy in each octave band, in dB relative to the 1 kHz octave.
Every single frequency gets equal power, so each octave (which spans twice as many frequencies as the one below) gets twice the energy: +3 dB per octave. The top octaves dominate, hence the hiss.
Questions people ask
Is white noise good for sleep?
It can help if noises wake you, by masking them. Evidence that it improves sleep in quiet rooms is weak.
Is it safe to play white noise all night?
At a low volume (around the level of a quiet conversation or lower) it is generally considered fine for adults. Keep it quieter and farther away for babies.
White vs brown noise: which is better?
White masks higher-pitched sounds best; brown is deeper and many find it less tiring. Try both with the switch above.