The best frequency for sleep
The short answer: a slow delta or theta beat on a low carrier, or no beat at all and just brown noise. Pick a session, set your phone down, and let the timer fade it out.
Brown noise only
The simplest option with the best case behind it: masks traffic and household noise, nothing to “listen to”.
Delta beat + brown noise
A 2 Hz binaural beat on a low 100 Hz carrier, tucked under brown noise. Headphones or sleep earbuds needed.
Theta drift
A 6 Hz beat on 180 Hz with pink noise, for the drowsy stretch before sleep. Stops after 30 minutes.
Speaker-friendly pulse
No headphones? A soft 3 Hz isochronic pulse on 150 Hz with brown noise plays fine from a speaker across the room.
Sessions keep playing as you browse and stop automatically. Open the studio to fine-tune any of them.
Why slow beats for sleep
As you fall asleep your brain’s dominant rhythm slows: alpha (8–13 Hz) while resting with eyes shut, theta (4–8 Hz) as you drift into light sleep, then large delta waves (under 4 Hz) in deep sleep. Sleep beats borrow those numbers, hoping to lead the brain down the same path. That link is plausible but unproven; what’s better supported is that a steady, featureless sound masks the noises that wake you.
A bedtime routine that works with the sound
- Start the session before you get into bed, set to the quietest level you can still hear.
- Use a 30–60 minute timer. Sound that runs all night is fine, but you rarely need it once asleep.
- Phone face-down and screen off: light matters more to your body clock than any tone.
- If you wake at night, restart the same session. Familiarity is part of what makes it work.
Children and babies: keep sound machines well away from the cot and quiet (the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests under 50 dB). Persistent insomnia deserves a proper conversation with a doctor; CBT for insomnia has far stronger evidence than any sound.
Questions people ask
What is the best frequency for sleep?
There is no proven single frequency. Popular choices are delta (1–4 Hz) or theta (4–8 Hz) binaural beats on a low carrier, or simply brown or pink noise. Continuous noise has the most (still modest) evidence.
What Hz is best for deep sleep?
Deep sleep is dominated by delta waves around 0.5–2 Hz, so 1–2 Hz beats are the usual choice. Lab studies boosting deep sleep use pink-noise bursts timed to brain waves, not continuous beats.
Is it OK to sleep with binaural beats on?
Yes, at a low volume. Use a timer so they stop once you’re asleep, and consider sleep headphones designed for side sleeping.
Is 528 Hz good for sleep?
It is a fairly bright tone. If you like it, use it quietly, but most people find lower tones or brown noise easier to fall asleep to.