White noise is a chaotic combination of sounds of low, medium and high frequency, which does not have a pattern. Scientists who have studied its effect on children have found that white noise for newborns is useful, as it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, calming the baby.
Children like to listen to white noise. A child who spent 9 months in the womb was used to living among sounds reminiscent of the distant hum of a hair dryer.
After the birth of the newborn can no longer be in complete silence for a long time, so when they hear a white noise, they calm down and feel safe.
What is white noise for a newborn?
White noise for a newborn is an acoustic term denoting a monotonous monotonous sound with the same intensity at any frequency. It can be natural and artificial. Examples of white noise are the sounds of water (waterfall, rain, etc.), the sounds of the wind, electrical appliances turned on, etc.
Despite the fact that many parents have not heard anything about such a thing as white noise, in everyday life they periodically use it. For example, most young mothers whisper to the child a monotonous “Shhh”, trying to calm him down. This is one of the options for white noise.
White noise for the baby gives a sense of security and safety, which is why under it the baby quickly calms down, eats better, calmer and sleeps longer. But it is not recommended to abuse it, because the child can become dependent on a constant sound background, and putting him to sleep in the usual silence will not be an easy task.
Why does a child need him?
It’s no secret that already with the beginning of the 2nd trimester, the baby begins to hear sounds in the womb. He distinguishes between the beating of the mother’s heart, the noise of her blood, the voice, the surrounding sounds. White noise allows the newborn to remember how he was comfortable and safe in his mother’s stomach.
But, besides this, monotonous sound makes it possible to achieve the following points:
- Improve the quality of sleep. The newborn will fall asleep easier and faster, and his sleep will become stronger and longer.
- Soothe crying. White noise positively affects the nervous system of the newborn, so that it calms down faster and stops crying.
- It helps to relax. Every moment the human brain analyzes any acoustic information in order to recognize dangerous sounds at the right moment. Because of this feature of the brain, it is difficult for a person to relax. This is most evident in young children, whose brain activity is more based on a reflex beginning. White noise gives newborns a minimum of acoustic information, as a result of which the brain activity decreases, which leads to relaxation. For this reason, white noise favorably affects not only infants, but also their parents.
Benefit and harm
Useful properties of white noise are:
- stress reduction;
- normalization of sleep;
- positive effect on the nervous system;
- decreased likelihood of ADHD (sudden infant mortality syndrome).
As for the harm of white noise, scientists did not find a direct danger to the child in the process of listening to white noise. However, you must always remember about indirect harm in the absence of safety precautions.
In what situations can you use white noise?
You can not use white noise obtained from audio files, which simply swarms the expanses of the Internet. The same applies to sounds from a free radio wave. Most likely, this is not what a small child needs. Poor-quality noise is not only not useful for babies, but also dangerous for nervous disorders and hearing impairment. You should choose only the “right” white noise for the newborn.
It has dozens of parameters that can be adjusted only by a white noise generator created not only by programmers and mathematicians, but also by doctors who took into account the psychological susceptibility of the human brain in various situations. That is, when taking into account a specific situation, the state of the human nervous system, its age characteristics (in our case, newborns), a really positive effect will be achieved with the help of a white noise generator.
What nuances do you need to know when using white noise?
It is not recommended to put the sound source very close to the bedroom place of the newborn – you can place it no closer than 1 m from the child.
You do not need to turn on the sound source for the whole night, just a few hours is enough.
The sound volume should not be stronger than 50 dB, a louder sound is unsafe for the baby. To understand the necessary sound power of white noise for a newborn, one needs to be guided by the sound to natural sounds – the volume of a shower or rain outside an open window, the sound of water from an ajar bathroom door, etc.
Is there any addiction?
It is rather difficult to answer this question, as the opinions of experts on this subject differ. Some scientists believe that it is not necessary to abuse and constantly resort to white noise. Any impact can not be only positive; everything has its negative features.
Therefore, turning on the receiver with a white noise sound, be sure to check how the volume is adjusted. It should not be more than 50 dB, otherwise the effect will be the opposite – the baby will begin to feel discomfort. But the sounds should not be too quiet, otherwise the baby will not hear them and will not be able to calm down. Turn on the receiver when you put the child to bed, and be sure to turn it off if he wakes up, is in a good mood and is eager for new discoveries and emotions.
