Do you fall asleep easier when it’s raining outside? Then you’ve already experienced sleep sounds before!
Some sounds help you get to sleep easier. These sounds are considered sleep sounds and include white noise, rain sounds, soundscapes, relaxing music, and more. The sounds work in many ways to help you create a more restful experience.
For example, white noise, a similar sound to an untuned radio, has been shown to improve sleep. In one study, adults who listened to white noise fell asleep 38% faster than those who didn’t.
How Sleep Sounds Help You Fall Asleep
From helping block background noise to getting you into a sleep routine, sleep sounds work in many different ways to help you get a better night’s rest.
Blocking out the world around you
The biggest benefit to sleep sounds is that they drown out environmental noise. Have you ever been kept up by loud roommates or neighbors? Have you been woken up by sudden honking or a large truck driving by outside? When you’re trying to fall asleep these noises can feel louder and more disruptive.
While sleep sounds can’t stop the noise, it helps to limit the impact of sudden changes in the volume of noise. This means that you don’t experience as much of a shock at different noises when you’re falling asleep and that environmental noises won’t wake you up as easily.
Getting your mind to unwind
When you’re falling asleep, thoughts about what went on during the day or plans for the next day may be harder to ignore than when you’re busy. Thinking about everything on your to-do list, relationships, and work can create stress and anxiety, which can prevent you from falling asleep.
Focusing on sleep sounds while you’re trying to fall asleep is a great way to refocus your thoughts because it allows you to center your attention on the sounds. When you focus on rain or relaxing music, for example, you can shift your brain away from racing thoughts. This can be an important step in falling asleep faster.
Signaling a time to rest in your routine
Having a regular routine can indicate to your brain that it’s time for you to go to sleep. Building a healthy routine might include reading, a warm bath or shower, drinking herbal teas, or listening to sleep sounds.
All of these habits tell your body that it’s time to rest. By incorporating sleep sounds into your nighttime routine, you will begin to associate those sounds with becoming tired or falling asleep. The process of decompressing or unwinding from the day helps to limit racing thoughts and extra energy when you go to bed.
Staying asleep longer
Listening to sounds can help you fall into a deeper sleep, which allows you to sleep for a longer period of time. Certain types of music have been shown in studies to help participants improve their overall quality of sleep.
When you’re able to limit distractions before bed and disruptions while you’re asleep, you’re far more likely to have a full night’s rest and wake up feeling more refreshed.
Where You Can Find Sleep Sounds
While there are many options for finding sounds to help you sleep, the best library of sleep sounds can be found in the Rest app.
The app has over 700 nights’ worth of sleep sounds that include bedtime stories, meditations, rain sounds, relaxing sleep music, soundscapes and more. There are even options to set how long you want the sound to play as you fall asleep.
Rest can also send you reminders of when you need to start your nighttime routine. By building a routine with sleep sounds, you’re setting yourself up for success in fall asleep faster and getting a better night’s rest.
