If you’re struggling to sleep, you might turn to a white noise app.
The idea is that the constant tone can help you drift off and it helps to mask other sounds in the environment around you.
While some use classic white noise, which is created using random frequencies, others choose recorded sounds like wave noise or the hum of a fridge.
But some scientists say that the evidence around this method is poor and believe that using white noise could actually be bad for us.
Researchers Samantha M.Riedy, Michael G.Smith, Sarah Rocha and Mathias Basner at the University of Pennsylvania reviewed 38 studies that have investigated noise as a sleep aid.
In the results of the work published in Sleep Medicine Reviews, they said: ‘The quality of evidence for continuous noise improving sleep was very low, which contradicts its widespread use.
‘Additional research with objective sleep measures and detailed descriptions of noise exposure is needed before promoting continuous noise as a sleep aid, especially since it may also negatively affect sleep and hearing.’
Speaking to the Guardian, Professor Basner said he would not recommend the apps because he doesn’t feel there is any evidence that they work.
He said: ‘If these apps or devices could only do good things, I wouldn’t really care. But because there may be negative consequences, I would just be careful.’
His biggest concern is that using white noise means that the auditory system stays switched on as the ear needs to continue translating that into nerve signals.
It means the system doesn’t get any time to rest.
He added: ‘It is an active process, which generates metabolites, some of which have been shown to be harmful to the inner ear. You probably want to have a period where the auditory system can wind down, regenerate and prepare for the next wake period.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/19/using-white-noise-apps-for-sleep-could-actually-be-bad-for-us-scientists-say-13442886/
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