Move Over, White Noise: New Research Says Pink Noise Can Clean Your Brain as You Sleep—Scientists Weigh In

If we know one thing for sure, it’s that sleep is a loaded topic. We’re constantly told that good sleep is a superpower, linked to better memory, attention, emotional stability, immune function and tissue repair. There’s not much that isn’t helped by getting enough shuteye, which makes it all the more stressful when we’re not.

Hence the rise of sleep hygiene: the daily habits and environmental tweaks designed to help us get a consistent night’s sleep. From getting morning sunlight and managing afternoon caffeine to limiting naps and late-night scrolling, protecting our sleep can feel like a job in itself. In a survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted by bed retailer Dreams at the beginning of 2026, nearly a third of women rated their sleep quality as bad, with low energy and irritability among the reported knock-on effects the following day.

I can relate. My sleep goes through peaks and troughs. On rare occasions, I’m out as soon as my head hits the pillow, but more often than not, my sleep is light, leaving me awake several times throughout the night and staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours, only to wake up groggy when the light starts to creep in. Like many of us, I’ve tried my fair share of sleep hacks, including white noise—something I relied heavily on at university to drown out the thumping bass of the parties in the kitchen below my room.

What I didn’t realise then is that white noise is just one sound on a much bigger spectrum. There’s brown, grey and violet noise, too, and one in particular has been attracting attention from researchers: pink noise. Recent research has suggested that listening to it could influence brain health by helping to clear waste products that build up in the brain during the day.

It sounds promising. But go down the pink-noise rabbit hole and the picture becomes considerably less clear, with some studies reporting that pink noise throughout the night can actually disrupt our sleep architecture, leading to less REM sleep, as well as a reduction in total hours.

So, what exactly is pink noise, what does the research actually show, and is it something we can really use, or is it just another unnecessary addition to already lengthy bedtime routines? I went in search of answers, speaking to experts and digging into the science to find out.

If you’re struggling with your sleep, you can also read our expert take on sleepmaxxing, the seven different types of rest, and how one writer fared when she tried the viral 5-step sleep routine for when the clocks change.

Science Says Pink Noise Could Clean Our Brain as We Sleep - But How Does it Work?

What is pink noise?

Like white noise, pink noise is a steady background sound often used to drown out other distracting noises such as traffic, music or people talking. Both pink and white noise contain a range of frequencies, but they differ in how those frequencies are distributed, which, in turn, changes how they sound.

“Pink noise has a softer, deeper quality which sounds a little like steady rainfall, waves or leaves rustling,” explains Dr Katie Tryon, Deputy CEO at VitalityHealth. That’s in contrast to the higher-pitched sound of white noise, which - thanks to all the frequencies operating at the same volume - tends to sound more like static, a vacuum cleaner, an air conditioning unit or a TV when the signal drops.

What does the research say about pink noise?

White noise is the most researched of the so-called colours of noise, with some studies suggesting it may improve sleep, reduce crying in babies and even lower symptoms of ADHD. But pink noise has also attracted scientific interest, including from researchers at MIT, who recently found that well-timed bursts of it throughout the night could increase the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and help clear waste from the brain. The researchers suggested that, with further study, pink noise could potentially improve cognitive function and memory, and even have implications for neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimers.

After reading the findings, I was all but ready to cue up my pink noise playlist. But as sleep scientist Dr Vanessa Hill explains, it’s not that simple, and we need to be careful not to overstate what research tells us.

She points to a contradictory study published earlier this year that found pink noise could actually harm sleep structure by reducing REM sleep - a stage in our sleep cycle crucial for memory consolidation and emotional regulation. “There isn’t great quality evidence across the board to suggest that coloured noise—whether pink or white—helps or harms your sleep,” says Dr Hill. “The scientific studies published have inconsistent sound levels and mixed findings, which makes it hard to draw conclusions from them.”

That’s not to say we should ignore new findings when they emerge, just that we need to pay attention to what was actually tested before turning it into a sweeping claim. “The research into pink noise is interesting, but it is still developing,” agrees Dr Tryon. “Carefully timed sounds used in laboratory studies are not necessarily the same as playing pink noise continuously through an app or speaker at home.”

She’s right—in the study, pink noise was played in 50-millisecond bursts, rather than continuously throughout the night, serving as a useful reminder that the details of a study matter, particularly when we’re tempted to turn an interesting laboratory finding into a new addition to our bedtime routine.

But what does all of this mean if you’re listening to pink noise at home?

Can pink noise improve our sleep?

Neither Dr Hill nor Dr Tryon is against pink noise if you find it helpful. “If someone finds pink noise relaxing, it could form part of their regular wind-down routine,” says Dr Tryon. “A steady background sound may help mask intermittent noises that would otherwise be distracting, while using it regularly could become a familiar cue that it is time to switch off and prepare for sleep.”

However, both experts point out that pink noise is more likely to help us relax and settle into sleep than actually improve the quality of it. “It’s better to think of coloured noise as something that can be used as a tool to mask sounds, rather than to improve sleep quality on its own,” says Dr Hill, while Dr Tryon reminds us that there’s rarely one quick fix when it comes to our health. “What we do consistently each evening is far more important than one sound or product,” she says.

In other words, if pink noise helps you drift off, there’s little reason to stop using it. But there’s also no need to feel as though you’re missing out on a crucial piece of the sleep puzzle if you’d rather sleep in silence.

How to improve your sleep hygiene, according to leading sleep experts:

So, what should we be doing to improve our sleep, particularly as we head towards winter, the clocks changing and shorter days?

“Consistent sleep timing, a dark room, enough time in bed, daily movement, and reduced caffeine and alcohol intake close to bedtime are all important,” says Dr Hill. “My advice is to prioritise the ones which fit best with your lifestyle, or which you notice affect your sleep the most.”

Whilst sleep hygiene is personal, Dr Tryon says that some factors may be more important than others. “Bedtime consistency was an even stronger predictor of sleep-related risk than simply getting enough hours,” she tells me, pointing to a study conducted by Vitality and the London School of Economics, in which they found that consistently positive sleep behaviours could add up to four years to our lifespan.

So, what does a consistent sleep routine look like and where, if anywhere, does pink noise fit in? “A useful place to start is what we call the ‘7:1 rule’,” says Dr Tryon. “Aim for seven hours of sleep and try to go to bed within the same one-hour window each night.”

As for the habits you use to relax, she recommends putting your phone away, reading a book or listening to a calming playlist. “Pink noise might help some people wind down, but it is the routine around it that is likely to make the bigger difference over time,” she emphasises.

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