Brown, pink or white noise? Hear the difference
The difference: white noise has equal energy at every frequency and sounds bright, like hiss. Pink noise drops off as pitch rises and sounds softer, like steady rain. Brown noise drops off faster still and sounds deep, like a distant waterfall. Research on noise and focus is small and mixed, so the best one is the one you can work with.
Play, layer, compare
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White noise
Flat hiss that covers speech best. Keep it quiet.
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Pink noise
Even across octaves. Warmer than white, brighter than brown.
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Brown noise
Deep and soft, weighted to the low end. Like a distant waterfall.
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Green noise
Our take on green noise: pink noise centred near 500 Hz. A soft, even hum.
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Rain
Steady rain on a window, with a soft low rumble.
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Café
Distant conversation and the odd cup. No words to follow.
Play two at once to layer them. Each sound has its own page with a timer: pick one above.
Brown vs pink vs white vs green
What each sounds like, how its energy is spread, and what research exists.
| White | Pink | Brown | Green | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sounds like | Hiss, TV static, a fan up close | Steady rain, wind | Distant waterfall, low rumble | A soft outdoor hum |
| Spectrum | Flat: equal power per hertz | Falls 3 dB per octave (1/f) | Falls 6 dB per octave (1/f²) | No standard definition; one informal version is pink noise with extra energy near 500 Hz |
| Focus research | Some, mostly in ADHD | Some, mostly in ADHD | None found by the 2024 meta-analysis | None |
| Try it for | Masking sharp sounds | A balanced, gentle background | Covering voices and traffic rumble | A calm, nature-like hum |
Does noise help you focus?
The best summary is Nigg and colleagues' 2024 meta-analysis of 13 studies with 335 participants: white and pink noise gave a small benefit on lab tasks for young people with ADHD or many ADHD symptoms, and a small negative effect for those without. It found no studies of brown noise, and the certainty was moderate (Nigg et al. 2024). Earlier experiments showed the same split: noise helped inattentive pupils and hurt attentive ones (Söderlund et al. 2007, 2010). For everyone else, noise is best thought of as masking: it covers sudden sounds that would otherwise pull your attention.
The longer version, with how each noise is made and who might prefer which: brown noise vs white noise vs pink noise for focus.
Then start a timer
Noise works best with an end point. Try the 25/5 Pomodoro with pink noise or rain, or the 50/10 timer with brown noise for longer work. For music instead of noise, see Nova Sounds playlists, or pick a preset by activity.
Questions
Short answers. Missing something? Write to contact@novasouds.se.
No study has compared them for focus. The research that exists (Nigg and colleagues, 2024) is on white and pink noise and found a small benefit only for young people with ADHD symptoms. Some people prefer brown noise because it has less hiss; try both for one session each.
Both lose energy as pitch rises, but brown noise loses it twice as fast: 6 dB per octave versus 3 (Colors of noise, Wikipedia). Pink sounds like steady rain; brown sounds deeper, like a distant waterfall.
At low volume, yes for most people: according to the NIDCD, sound at or below 70 dBA is unlikely to harm hearing; long or repeated exposure at 85 dBA or more can. Take breaks with the timer.
Sources
- Nigg et al. (2024), Do white noise or pink noise help with task performance in youth with ADHD or elevated attention problems? Systematic review and meta-analysis, JAACAP
- Söderlund et al. (2007), Listen to the noise: noise is beneficial for cognitive performance in ADHD, JCPP (abstract)
- Söderlund et al. (2010), The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children, Behavioral and Brain Functions
- Colors of noise (Wikipedia)
- NIDCD: Noise-induced hearing loss