The Best White Noise Machine
If you’re looking for a simple white noise machine to help you or your little one sleep, then look no further. Join me as I discuss the benefits of white noise, the machine I recommend, other alternatives to try, and why you should have one in your home.
The white noise machine I recommend
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While you’ll find many options for white noise machines, the one I recommend and own is the Yogasleep Dohm. I like that this is as simple as any electronic gadget you’d plug into the wall. All you need to get it running is to press a single button.
Adjusting the volume of the white noise is as easy as rotating the unit to allow more or less air to be heard. The machine has an actual fan inside, so you won’t hear any strange loops or bumps along the way.
That said, the fan doesn’t interfere with the temperature of the room and won’t actually cool it down. This is perfect if you’d like white noise but would rather not turn on a fan or heater.
I also appreciate its size. This can get tucked into any room or corner and is small enough to take with you on road trips. In fact, we used it on a recent family vacation to Lake Arrowhead!
Lastly, you can use a white noise machine long past the baby stage. Let’s say you have a new baby and don’t want your toddler to wake up with every cry. Perhaps you want him to sleep without feeling like you have to tiptoe around your own home. And you can even use it yourself in your own room!
Why have white noise in the first place?
I’m a fan of the Yogasleep Dohm, but let’s backtrack a bit. Why should you have a white noise machine to begin with—or white noise for that matter?
Your baby heard a lot of noise when he was in the womb, from the beating of your heart to the whooshing of your blood. These sounds were also constant—after all, your heart never stops beating or your blood moving. If you think about it, there was never a moment when he heard pitch silence.
So, when he enters our world, he no longer has that comforting, familiar white noise to rely on. But when you turn on a white noise machine, he once again has a constant shushing sound to lull him to sleep and calm.
White noise also muffles any sudden sounds that can startle him awake. Imagine him sleeping in a silent room and you open the door to peek in. Except—oops!—the door creaked ever so slightly, which woke him up. With white noise, any noise you make blends in better, helping to extend his sleep.
Alternatives to a white noise machine
I’ll admit: I didn’t run out and get a white noise machine the day my eldest was born. I relied on other alternatives that can also do the job. Below, I’ll share those options as well as their pros and cons.
The first is a fan or heater. As mentioned, you can simply turn on a fan or heater in your baby’s room and it’ll more than do its job. I still do this if I actually want to cool or warm the room.
But if the temperature is ideal without either fan or heater, turning one on can feel uncomfortable. Or if, say, your heater has an automatic switch to turn off if it gets too warm, then your baby will hear it constantly turn on and off throughout the night, easily waking him up.
The second is an audio file. One of the first things I did was download a one-hour long music file of nothing but static and looped it over and over.
This worked well, until that point at the top of the hour when it would turn off ever so slightly before turning on again. Considering that I was up all night, it didn’t feel good to hear that pause to remind me that I haven’t slept once in the past hour.
The bottom line
Hopefully, this gave you an idea of the benefits of having white noise and why simple a white noise machine can work wonders. Here’s to better sleep for you and the whole family!