Dr. Roneil Malkani points to a recording of pink noise being played at brief intervals to enhance slow brain waves during deep sleep at the Center for Circadian & Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on May 16, 2024. Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Malkani, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
White noise is similar to static on a radio or TV. Sound engineers define it as having equal volume across all the frequencies audible to the human ear. It gets its name from white light, which contains all the visible color wavelengths. “The noise provides stimulation to the brain without providing information, and so it doesn’t distract,” Nigg said.Scientists at Northwestern University are studying how short pulses of pink noise can enhance the slow brain waves of deep sleep. In small studies, these pink-noise pulses have shown promise in improving memory and the relaxation response.