"White Noise." What's all the fuss about?

What is White Noise? It's a mixture of all audible frequencies that human ears can hear, a bit like if your TV or radio lost frequency you'd hear that shhhhy type noise in it's place. In life there are various 'white noises' that are similar, the microwave, vacuum, fans & air cons. These sometimes fall into 'pink or brown noise' brackets. How does it help with sleep? It blocks out external noises that might startle or wake our little ones whilst helping them to relax by focusing on the white noise surrounding them. It gives a cue to our little ones brains that bed time is here which can help with the release of melatonin, their sleepy hormone in the same way their bed time routines do. It provides comfort for our little ones as it is almost mimicking the sounds they heard in the womb and after spending so long in there its a nice familiarity amongst all of the unfamiliarity's. Also as parents or caregivers we find ourselves naturally 'shhhing' our little ones to settle them or if they're upset- well white noise also mimic's this! It's portable! I bark on about routine and how it helps our little ones know when sleep times are coming- white noise certainly fits in with this. It can come to the park, restaurant, on holiday or the friends houses. It will act as a comfort for them sleeping in new places and who doesn't love that! How should we use white noise? I would use it continually throughout the night- in fact we do! If it is cutting out after a set time this in itself could be disturbing to our little ones sleep. If they wake in the night and that familiarity has gone they might not be able to just roll over and resettle themselves as their original sleep environment has changed. Keep the volume at a level that's not too loud, recommendations come in around 50 decibels (about that of a quiet dishwasher or a conversation.) I don't like the sound! If you are finding white noise too 'harsh' then Pink noise is a softer variation or brown noise is said to be more wind / ocean like. Have a listen to the different variations and find what works for you. For us white noise has enabled our ' adult' lives to live on, having friends over when the boys are sleeping and them not being disturbed is one pro for us! Both boys share a room here, if one is up in the night I can get in and sort out any dramas without the other one stirring and although this might be part down the them just being used to dealing with each others noises/ occasional upset I am sure the white noise plays it part too. We have a plug in box that we ordered online, it has a number of 'relaxing sounds', a timer option which we don't use and we just pop it on at the start of our bedtime routine and turn it off in the morning.