Is white noise safe for babies?

Updated 24 October 2026 · Written by the Lullsong team. General information, not medical advice.

Does white noise help babies sleep?

In a small 1990 trial (Spencer et al.), 16 of 20 newborns fell asleep within five minutes with white noise, compared with 5 of 20 without. The trial measured how fast babies fell asleep, not whether they slept longer, and no larger study has settled that question.

How loud is too loud?

Researchers in Toronto tested 14 infant sleep machines at full volume (Hugh et al., 2014). At 30 cm, about the distance of a machine on a crib rail, every one was louder than 50 dB, the noise limit recommended for hospital nurseries. Three were louder than 85 dB, which would exceed workplace limits for adults if played for more than 8 hours.

A 2024 review of 20 studies (De Jong et al.) found that continuous, moderately loud noise harmed early development in animal studies, and studies in children mostly pointed the same way. Some studies suggest that low-level noise during sleep may help. The authors call for limits on how loud and how long devices play.

Safe white noise, step by step

• Quiet: about 50 dB or less where your baby’s head is, roughly a quiet conversation. A free sound meter app, such as NIOSH’s Sound Level Meter, can check it.
• Far: put the phone or speaker as far away as practical, at least 2 metres. Never in the crib or on the crib rail.
• Short: use a timer that turns the sound off after your baby falls asleep.
• Safe sleep first: on the back, on a firm, flat surface, with nothing else in the crib (AAP, 2022). That includes phones and cables.

How Lullsong handles it

Lullsong starts every session with a 30-minute timer and a slow three-minute fade-out. All-night play is there if you choose it, but it is never the default.

Sources

1. Spencer JA, Moran DJ, Lee A, Talbert D. White noise and sleep induction. Arch Dis Child 1990;65:135-137. https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.65.1.135
2. Hugh SC, Wolter NE, Propst EJ, Gordon KA, Cushing SL, Papsin BC. Infant sleep machines and hazardous sound pressure levels. Pediatrics 2014;133:677-681. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3617
3. De Jong RW, Davis GS, Chelf CJ, Marinelli JP, Erbele ID, Bowe SN. Continuous white noise exposure during sleep and childhood development: a scoping review. Sleep Med 2024;119:88-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2024.04.006
4. Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I; AAP Task Force on SIDS. Sleep-related infant deaths: updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics 2022;150:e2022057990. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057990

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