Your burning inquiries regarding the fitness, beauty, and health fads spreading over your social feeds can be answered by playing TikTok True or False. With the aid of professionals and academic research, each story dissects a popular wellness trend to reveal the accuracy and suitability of the online “advice” that has gone viral. You won’t ever need to worry again what to skip or what is legitimate. It’s not exactly a novel idea to utilize background noise to unwind, concentrate, and sleep, but some TikTok users now claim that a particular kind of sound called “brown noise” can help with a variety of health conditions. (See: Straight from the Experts: Sleeping Tips)
White noise and brown noise are comparable, however brown noise has a deeper, somewhat distinct sound. People are currently uploading a ton of videos to TikTok claiming that this low-frequency sound helps them hear relax and sleep . Even those who suffer from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) occasionally use the phrase “ it helps them focus better .” In reality, the total number of views for videos with the hashtag #brownnoise is above 71 million.
An individual who frequently posts on TikTok about having ADHD is featured in one post that went viral. The user’s mouth drops in the video after hearing brown noise for the first time, which has received more than one million likes. There is writing over the video that asks, “Where did the ideas go?”
Does listening to brown noise while wearing headphones to block out the outside world actually help with sleep, relaxation, and ADHD symptoms? On this, professionals have differing opinions. What you should know is as follows.
BROWN NOISE: WHAT IS IT? White noise, which provides a hazy sound like a radio tuned to an underused frequency, is probably something you’re already familiar with. Similar to white noise, brown noise is a broad spectrum sound with low frequencies. According to Melissa Santos, Ph.D. of Connecticut Children’s, who is division chief of pediatric psychology, this results in a sound that is deeper than white noise.
Mathias Basner, M.D., Ph.D. , a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and the unit for experimental psychiatry, division of sleep and chronobiology, and department of psychiatry director, adds, “It’s a static, random background noise.” Brown noise may be compared to the dull sound of strong winds passing by.
BROWN NOISE, DOES IT HELP WITH SLEEP? According to Alon Avidan M.D., M.P.H. , professor of neurology and director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center, although ambient sound devices that produce white noise are frequently utilized as sleep aids, research hasn’t demonstrated that they genuinely result in better sleep. In reality, according to Dr. Avidan, who has reviewed the data on white noise and sleep, broadband noises “have not been proved to be effective.” Although brown noise differs slightly from white noise, Dr. Avidan isn’t sure if it promotes sleep. When patients ask him if they should buy a device that plays noise or blocks off ambient noise, he responds, “I tell them not to do that.” “The evidence to date does not support its scientific validity.”
Dr. Basner, who has investigated how sound affects sleep, concurs. He notes that “the introduction of a noise source could be deleterious for sleep itself” and says, “I was astonished to hear that many people were employing broadband sounds for sleep.” According to Dr. Basner, it might be useful for disguising other noises that might enter your bedroom, such automobile horns. And if you listen to brown noise at night on a regular basis, it might eventually act as a signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep, which could aid in your ability to fall asleep, he says.
CAN BROWN NOISE HELP YOU DE-STRESS? According to Thea Gallagher, Psy.D., , a clinical assistant professor of psychology at NYU Langone Health and co-host of the Mind in View podcast, employing brown noise for relaxing may have some benefits. Although there isn’t much high-quality scientific research on this, she claims that “listening to brown noise” does appear to be a method of slowing the brain down.
Dr. Gallagher says that because it is a deeper sound than other sorts of noise, it may enable a person to enter a “more” contemplative state of mind. White noise, in contrast, sounds “excitatory” and can help you feel more energized, according to her. However, she continues, “for some people, brown noise can feel quite slowed-down and calming.”
DO BROWN NOISE Symptoms of ADHD Help? Brown noise is reportedly helpful for focusing, particularly for people with ADHD, a common neurodevelopmental problem that is typically diagnosed in childhood and persists until adulthood, according to some TikTokers. The relax 0 states that individuals with ADHD may struggle to manage their impulses, have issues paying attention, or be too active.
According to Dr. Santos, brown noise is thought to be beneficial for ADHD patients because it improves focus and concentration while removing external noise disruptions. It enables you to hear a constant sound as opposed to a range of varied sound sources that can make it harder to concentrate, she continues. It’s significant to highlight that, in Dr. Santos’ opinion, little research has been done on the impact of brown noise on the signs and symptoms of ADHD. relax 1 has been discovered in study for ADHD patients, though.
IS IT SAFE TO LISTEN TO BROWN NOISE? According to experts, there is no proof that utilizing brown noise for sleep, relaxation, or attention is dangerous. Dr. Santos asserts that white noise has some advantages and that there are no safety issues with any color noises. However, she continues, “brown noise has not yet been the subject of any academic study.
IS IT TRUE OR FALSE THAT BROWN NOISE HELP WITH SLEEP, RELAXATION, AND ADHD SYMPTOMS?
There isn’t enough evidence to say that brown noise genuinely improves sleep, relaxation, or ADHD symptoms, despite the fact that many TikTok videos make it appear like the solution to a range of health issues. In fact, some research indicates that background noise hinders your ability to fall asleep. However, experts agree that it wouldn’t hurt to give brown noise a try if you wish to listen to it while you study, relax, or sleep.
