Let’s talk about how you can help your baby sleep better. The sleep environment is one of the easiest things to optimise when wanting to improve your child’s sleep, and white noise is a great way of doing this.
Does white noise really improve my baby’s sleep? And how to use it
Why use white noise?
Babies aren’t used to having a completely quiet sleep environment, and sometimes if it’s too quiet they may wake up more often than necessary. They’re used to hearing the heartbeat of the mother and the whooshing of the amniotic fluid while in the womb. On the other hand, sudden noises, like doing the dishes in the kitchen, or siblings playing in the next room may wake your baby up when you’ve just gotten her to sleep. That’s where white noise can help your baby sleep better.
White noise refers to any noise containing many frequencies with equal intensities. It comes in a variety of different sounds from the hair dryer, to the vacuum cleaner, to the womb sounds. My favorite are the womb sounds, because they mimic what the baby would have heard in utero the best.
4 ways to put on white noise
There are a few different ways to put on white noise. Here’s a few:
- A sound machine, which usually has a variety of different sounds and volume.
- An app on your phone, such as the Sound Sleeper App, which offers a variety of different sounds, and allows you to choose the duration of the white noise.
- An MP3, that you can buy and download online, such as this one.
- If you’re wanting to go the more cuddly way, there is a product on the market at the moment called myHummy. This is basically a stuffed toy with a white noise maker inside. You can also put this on for 12 hours, so that it’s just sitting next to your child and making a light noise, or there are some with a sensor, which senses when your child is stirring and brings the white noise back again.
How to use white noise effectively
I would suggest that if you use white noise when putting the baby to sleep, you also make sure it lasts the entire duration of the sleep, whether the nap or at nighttime. Otherwise, your baby may wake up in the middle of the nap or the night and if the environment isn’t the same as it was when they went to sleep, they may fully wake up and be hard to resettle.
I hope these tips will help your baby sleep better. If you need more help with your child’s sleep, or have questions about how to further improve your child’s sleep environment, book a free 15-minute sleep consult.
Want more sleep tips? Download the “3 Simple Tips for Better Night’s Sleep” and take the first steps towards restful nights for both you and your baby.