Fan noise for sleeping
A box fan running in the corner, without the draught or the electricity bill.
Layers — mix as many as you like
Tap a second sound to layer it — rain under brown noise, for instance.
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What is fan?
A running fan may be the most common sleep sound in the world, and people who grew up with one often cannot sleep without it. What you hear is low-frequency noise shaped by the motor and blades, with a slow pulse as the air moves. This player rebuilds that from brown noise through a resonant filter with a gentle cycle, so it breathes the way a real fan does.
Good for
- Anyone used to a fan who is travelling without one
- Winter, when you want the sound but not the cold air
- Masking household noise without the brightness of white noise
The details
- Built from
- Brown noise, a resonant band-pass filter and a slow amplitude cycle
- Sounds like
- A box fan on medium, a few metres away
- Closest colour
- Brown noise
Questions
Why do people sleep better with a fan on?
Two effects that are easy to confuse. The sound provides a constant background that masks sudden noises, and the moving air keeps you cooler — and a slightly cool room genuinely does help most people fall asleep. If you use a fan mainly for the sound, a player gives you that half without chilling the room.
Does this sound like a real fan?
It is generated rather than recorded, so it is an approximation: the low rumble, the resonance of the housing and the slow pulse are there, but not the rattle of any particular fan. Most people using it for masking stop noticing the difference once they are lying down.
Can I use this instead of a white noise machine?
For many people, yes. A phone or laptop on this page does the same job as an entry-level machine, provided it stays plugged in and the volume is sensible. A dedicated machine is worth it if you want physical controls or something that is not your phone.
Every colour of noise
White noise
Equal power at every frequency — the bright hiss that masks almost anything.
Play white noise →Brown noise
Deep and low, like a distant waterfall. The most popular colour for sleeping.
Play brown noise →Green noise
Mid-range noise, often described as the background sound of open countryside.
Play green noise →Pink noise
The middle ground: softer than white, brighter than brown. Close to steady rain.
Play pink noise →Blue noise
The mirror of pink: energy rises with pitch, giving a bright, airy hiss.
Play blue noise →Grey noise
Shaped so every frequency sounds equally loud, rather than measuring equally loud.
Play grey noise →Violet noise
The mirror of brown: rises 6 dB per octave into a thin, piercing hiss.
Play violet noise →Black noise
Effectively silence, with almost all energy below what you can hear.
Play black noise →Beyond the colours
Not noise colours in the strict sense, but built from them — and useful for the same reason.