White noise machine
A speaker playing steady broadband sound to mask noise overnight.
Small speakers, and apps that do the same job, play constant broadband sound through the night. The idea is masking: against a steady background, a sudden noise is less likely to register. Evidence is mixed, and some researchers question what hours of continuous sound do to dream sleep.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Michael PhelpsDoes it
Olympic swimmer · Most decorated Olympian in history
The same interview described a bedtime he keeps to the minute: in bed by 8:45 in the evening, with a sound machine set to start at 8:55. He talks about bedtime and hydration as inputs he controls rather than habits he hopes for.
Source: WHOOP Podcast #171 with Michael Phelps, WHOOP write-up - Matthew WalkerDiscusses
Sleep scientist · author of Why We Sleep
Humans did not evolve to sleep in silence, is his framing, and he weighs the memory benefits of noise machines against a possible cost to dream sleep. For loud, intermittent noise he thinks earplugs beat a constant hum.
Source: The Matt Walker Podcast #136: Sleep and Sound
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under sleep.
- Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.Backed by 6 of 62 stacks: 4 do it, 1 recommend it, 1 have discussed it
- Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.Backed by 5 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 3 have discussed it
- Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Blue-light blocking glasses
Amber lenses worn in the evening: popular, and genuinely contested
Backed by 4 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 1 have discussed it - Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 3 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
- Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Light therapy lamp
Bright artificial light for dark mornings when sunlight is not available
Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 2 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Sleep eye mask
A cloth mask that blocks light at the eyes when a room cannot be made dark.
Backed by 3 of 62 stacks: 1 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.