white noise for sleeping

[Hink]

Okay, so a couple of weeks ago my wife complained about the fan in the cool weather. I got use to it at the old apartment with all the street noise and during the winter I used my clean air machine and still do. Well it's a lot quieter around here but the noises are different noises and also the human factor (snoring etc). I decided to look into white noise machines and saw some with good reviews around 40 usd, I had the card out when I thought "wait a minute"...I have all this gear and I can't make white noise?

Well right now I'm recording the clear air machine (for one hour, then I'll snip out any peaks like bangs that might occur in apartment dwelling) then I'm going to record my other fan we often use when it's warmer for an hour. I have a decent stereo in the bedroom with tower speakers and I'll burn a cd with 1 track, put it on repeat track and I should have white noise all night, right?

Anyone else do this? Any tips? I'm thinking of adding a drone that varies in volume over the duration ever so slightly and not really audible (hoping to tap into subliminal sleep aid type stuff) so I'll be probably be revamping it I'm sure. Should I go to mp3 to get one long track that lasts the night instead of repeat?

Why not just listen to music you ask? The wife doesn't like it, which is one of the big things I gave up for her though I prefer to sleep to music.

[timobrien]

You could also just pull down a sample of ocean waves from the web and continuously loop it.

Another source of white noise is to just turn a TV to an unused channel.

[allcentury]

this has been proven time and time again to be a sleeping crutch not an aid. your best bet is to do some reading on how to obtain the perfect sleep (which 75% of it is all the things you do/don't do before you laydown). maybe it's time to get over it instead?

[mauseoleum]

Don't you have fruityloops? Wouldn't it be the easiest to use the noise from 3xosc? And filter it some? ...

... mix in some erotic breathing sounds so your wife will have pleasant dreams ...

[Hink]

this has been proven time and time again to be a sleeping crutch not an aid. your best bet is to do some reading on how to obtain the perfect sleep (which 75% of it is all the things you do/don't do before you laydown). maybe it's time to get over it instead?

actually I have sleep issues from an anxiety disorder and have meds for it as well as other things, the problem IS noise and when something simple wakes me it becomes very difficult to return to sleeping and I can't keep taking pills. You're right, it is a crutch and sometimes a person needs a crutch. If it were possible "to get over it" I would, if it were possible in the last 16 years the V.A. Hospital would have found a way, therapy, relaxtion techniques, no tv hours before bed, no computer hours before bed, reading something boring, lowering the temp and all of them fail. The mind picks up on cues while we're sleeping, when the mind is overactive from a disorder sometimes you don't "get over it". Like other disorders you learn cope to cope with it which countless times I've been told to sleep with a fan on. I also use herbal alternatives such as chamomile (not as a tea, I make my own concentrated extracts and I use an herbal vaporizer.

About waves from the sea, the wife didn't like it...the A.C. and fans she likes, but not when it's almost December in New England and the clean air machine is not needed at my new apartment like it was at my old one (where I was almost 15 years)

I never thought of using FL, but I did record the clean air machine and added "constant wind" from oddity for it's cycles but it's beyond subtle, what I have now is my first try...I might try 3xosc or the similar next.

[justin3am]

Brit has similar sleeping problems. Even with sleep-aide drugs she gets a max of 4 hours per night. Music makes it worse because it gives her something to concentrate on. She's at her best when we have the turtle aquarium in our bedroom; it's the constant drone of the filter's motor and the subtle burbling of the water. I tried recording the sounds and playing it back through the stereo in the bedroom but it didn't have the same effect. Perhaps the turtle's environment itself is therapeutic? maybe this isn't practical for you but I thought I'd share what's worked for us.

I'd be willing to share the turtle aquarium recording if you'd like.

[tommy_d]

I've experimented with noise and sleep.

I used Audacity to generate noise, rendered the resulting audio files, crunched them down to mp3, played them back using an mp3 player through one of those flat under-pillow speakers. I tried different "colours" of noise to see if that made a difference but none of them helped me sleep TBH

[Hink]

thanks justin, I think I have what want because it's what I'm use to...you may recall the old apartment we were in was hot on the coldest night but now Denise is bundled up with the fan. Our new bedroom has the additional challenge of a very high ceiling on one end (I think I measured it at about 17 feet), that with the hardwood floors makes for great reverb. I usd the multi band enhancer in samp (widens the stereo field) and it seems to be a nice fit, not so harsh but nicely spread throughout the room.

tommy, thanx for your input....those baby speakers would drive me crazy before helping

[jazztard]

You could try BrainWave Generator. It can generate noise and make it binaural, although if you're listening without headphones, maybe it won't have any effect.

This is a top-notch product for generating such kind of stuff.

Another thing you could try is Cool Edit Pro or Audition, it can generate white noise and has a binaural plugin.

I'm sure you know there are other types of noise like pink and brown, and you're certainly aware that you can use modulation (LFOs) and reverbs....

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK, and strictly speaking, recording something from the environment is not "white" noise.

EDIT: And I could recommend you some of Coil's work, like ANS or Time Machines. It's even better than noise

[Bonteburg]

I listen to white noise all the time during the day to keep unwanted noises off - brilliant!

Sometimes very soft on top of radio programmes, so I can listen to a bit of music and noises (ie people talking etc) that don't annoy me and still drown out unwanted sounds.

Just made a 60 minute mp3 of it with a synth, nothing fancy.

[Hink]

You could try BrainWave Generator. It can generate noise and make it binaural, although if you're listening without headphones, maybe it won't have any effect.

This is a top-notch product for generating such kind of stuff.

Another thing you could try is Cool Edit Pro or Audition, it can generate white noise and has a binaural plugin.

I'm sure you know there are other types of noise like pink and brown, and you're certainly aware that you can use modulation (LFOs) and reverbs....

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK, and strictly speaking, recording something from the environment is not "white" noise.

EDIT: And I could recommend you some of Coil's work, like ANS or Time Machines. It's even better than noise

I actually have ce2k and up to audition 2, but not installed.

[Hink]

I listen to white noise all the time during the day to keep unwanted noises off - brilliant!

Sometimes very soft on top of radio programmes, so I can listen to a bit of music and noises (ie people talking etc) that don't annoy me and still drown out unwanted sounds.

Just made a 60 minute mp3 of it with a synth, nothing fancy.

it does work and a lot of people use white noise machines at work to help concentrate

[justin3am]

thanks justin, I think I have what want because it's what I'm use to...

Say no more. I understand completely.

I'd love to live in a place with some lively acoustics. All these parallel walls and "strategically placed" windows in my apartment are driving me crazy.

[Barf]

I listen to recordings of rain and thunderstorms to help me go to sleep, rain also has this white noise 'quality'. I guess it somehow helps to stop my train of thoughts, gives my brain something else to focus on, I don't know.

[RunBeerRun]

I sleep with a fan on too, also own a white noise machine with about 6 different sounds.

A fan resonates, vibrates, gives you something to zone out to, a white noise machine does neither of these.