How to sleep with background noise

To sleep with background noise, choose one steady sound, play it at a low volume, set a timer that fades out instead of cutting off, and know what you'll do if you wake up after it ends. The research on whether continuous noise helps sleep is weak, so treat it as something to test for a week, not a sure fix. This guide is for adults.

The 5 steps

1. Pick one steady sound

The point of background noise is that it stays the same. The 2021 review by Riedy and colleagues covered only continuous white noise or similar broadband noise. A fan is a constant hum with no words and no story.

Capezuti and colleagues describe white and pink noise devices as used "to mask sounds and facilitate relaxation and sleep", and then say the effectiveness "is not well established". Masking is the idea, not a guarantee.

In Fan Noise, each sound repeats in a loop until you pause it or the timer ends, so it never switches to another track. Classic Ceiling Fan, Modern Tower Fan and Window Box Fan are free. Industrial Fan and Quiet Breeze are Premium.

2. Keep the volume low

The 2021 review by Riedy and colleagues (38 studies) says additional research is needed before promoting continuous noise as a sleep aid, "especially since it may also negatively affect sleep and hearing". That's a reason to use the quietest level that covers what bothers you.

Set the volume while you're lying in bed, since a level that sounds fine across the room can be too much next to your pillow. In Fan Noise, the volume slider is on the player, below the sound name.

3. Use a timer with a gradual fade-out

If you'd rather not run the sound all night, a timer ends it for you, and a fade-out spares you a sudden silence. In Fan Noise:

1. On the "Sounds" tab, find "Sleep timer" just under the volume slider.
2. Open the "Fade-out" menu and choose 30 seconds, 1, 2 or 5 minutes.
3. Tap a preset: 15m, 30m, 1h or 2h. Tapping it starts the timer.

The fade-out happens inside the timer, in its last stretch. A 30m timer with a 5 minute fade-out starts lowering the sound at 5 minutes remaining. When the fade finishes, the sound stops, and the volume you set is there next time you press play.

4. Know what to do if it stops and you wake up

Decide this before bed. Two simple options:

• Start it again. Press play on the player, then start the timer again.
• Use a longer preset the next night. If you keep waking right after the sound ends, try 1h or 2h instead of 15m or 30m.

If you're waking most nights, or your sleep keeps getting worse, a sound isn't the answer and a clinician is the right person to ask.

5. Try it for a week and compare

Run the setup for about a week, then try a few nights without it. You're the only one who can tell which nights went better. If you sleep worse with the sound, stop using it.

Sleeping with noise vs silence

Riedy and colleagues found studies where continuous noise improved sleep and studies where it disrupted it, and rated the quality of evidence for improvement as "very low". Capezuti and colleagues reviewed 34 studies with 1,103 adults. Nineteen reported better sleep outcomes, and the authors still concluded there was "no strong evidence". They also noted that none of the studies reported adverse effects with short-term use.

Neither review was about fan recordings specifically. They covered white noise, pink noise and similar broadband sounds. For a closer look, see is sleeping with background noise bad and fan noise for sleeping.

Setting this up with Fan Noise

Fan Noise plays fan recordings on iPhone. The steps above, in order:

1. Tap "Change sound" and pick a fan.
2. Press play and set the volume with the slider.
3. Open "Fade-out", pick a length, then tap 15m, 30m, 1h or 2h.
4. Lock your phone. The sound keeps playing.

The sounds are stored in the app, so it works offline. There are no ads and no account. A phone call pauses the sound, because iOS interrupts audio for calls. The app doesn't track or analyze your sleep.

This guide shares published research for general information. It isn't medical advice and it doesn't diagnose or treat any sleep condition.