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Study: Pink Noise Reduces REM Sleep, Challenges Sleep Aid Claims
UPenn research shows pink noise reduces REM sleep by nearly 19 minutes and disrupts deep sleep when combined with environmental aircraft noise, while earplugs protect sleep quality.
- A new UPenn study found pink noise reduced REM sleep by 23 minutes compared with no-noise nights in the university sleep lab.
- Riding a wave of app-driven popularity, pink-noise apps and devices replaced older $15 white-noise machines, while a review found nine of 11 studies favored pink noise but mostly versus silence.
- Using controlled soundscapes, 25 volunteers spent a week in UPenn's sleep lab with randomized conditions, including pink noise, environmental noise every 4–6 minutes, and earplugs, while researchers recorded polysomnography.
- Adding pink noise to environmental sound led to significantly less deep sleep and trimmed total sleep by about 15 minutes, while intermittent environmental noise reduced deep sleep by about 25 minutes and earplugs preserved sleep near no-noise levels.
- By simulating modern urban noises , the study found disruptions to REM sleep and deep sleep, which support memory, emotional regulation, and regeneration.
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Medical Xpress+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality
Pink noise—often used to promote sleep—may reduce restorative REM sleep and interfere with sleep recovery. In contrast, earplugs were found to be significantly more effective in protecting sleep against traffic noise, according to new study published in the journal SLEEP from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources30
Leaning Left5Leaning Right2Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Center
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources are Center
56% Center
L 31%
C 56%
13%
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