Pink noise vs brown noise
Both gentler than white — the question is how much treble you want left. Switch between them below and keep whichever you stop noticing first — that is the one that is working.
Layers — mix as many as you like
Tap a second sound to layer it — rain under brown noise, for instance.
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Side by side
| Pink noise | Brown noise | |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Falls 3 dB per octave | Falls 6 dB per octave |
| Sounds like | Steady rain, wind in leaves | A distant waterfall, a plane cabin |
| Masks best | A balance of high and low | Low-frequency rumble |
| Research | The colour most studied for sleep | Little direct research |
| Choose it if | You want something natural and open | You want the deepest, calmest option |
The short version
These two are far closer to each other than either is to white noise, and most people who like one will get along with the other. Pink keeps more of the treble, so it reads as rain; brown removes most of it, so it reads as a rumble. Pink has more research attached to it, but the studies that made it famous timed short bursts to brainwaves in a lab, which is not what happens when you play it steadily all night.
Questions
Is pink or brown noise better for deep sleep?
Pink noise has more research behind it, but that research used lab equipment to time bursts of sound to slow brainwaves — a different intervention from playing it continuously. There is no good evidence that either colour beats the other when simply left running. Comfort over eight hours is the more useful test, and that is personal.
Which is closer to rain?
Pink noise. Steady rainfall has roughly a pink spectrum, falling about 3 decibels per octave. Brown noise sounds more like heavy rain heard from indoors with the treble removed, or a waterfall at a distance.
Can I switch between them?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Use the player above, give each a few nights, and keep whichever you stop noticing sooner. Not noticing it is the point.
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.
Rain
Steady rainfall with the patter on top — the most requested sleep sound there is.
Play rain →Fan
A box fan running in the corner, without the draught or the electricity bill.
Play fan →Ocean
Slow waves arriving and drawing back, roughly ten to a minute.
Play ocean →Thunderstorm
Rain with distant thunder rolling through at irregular intervals.
Play thunderstorm →