The Best Sound Machine

Buying Guide

From traffic outside your window to the neighbours dog barking to creaking doors and floors in your house, there are a lot of sounds that can keep you and your loved ones awake at night. A great way to drown out all of the noise is to use a sound machine. Often called a white noise machine, these gadgets play a variety of soothing sounds, such as static, water rushing or birds chirping, to help people fall asleep and stay asleep.

One of the main things to consider when selecting a sound machine is the variety of sounds it can play. While some sound machines only play white noise, others have an array of sounds including music, running water, forest sounds, and more. Some also enable you to plug in a music player and play that through the sound machine. Think about what noises you prefer to fall asleep to. In addition, check to see what range of volume settings the sound machine has. Some people like to have their sound machine play very softly while others need it to be quite loud to drown out other noises.

Another factor to consider is whether the sound machine has a clean loop of the recording. In some cases, you can actually hear when the recording ends and starts again, which can be disruptive to some people’s sleep as there is a change in sound. With a clean loop, however, the end of the recording and the beginning of the recording are indiscernible, so you don’t get jolted awake by the sudden change.

• Where is the best place to set up your sound machine? For most people, it’s right beside their bed on their side table. This way, you don’t have to have the volume up too loud as the gadget is close by. However, others actually prefer to place the sound machine across the room. This gives the feeling of a fuller sound that encompasses the whole room, not just near where you’re sleeping.
• A great feature to have in your sound machine is ambient light or a night light. This way, you can use the feature to navigate across a dark room without turning on overhead lights. Some sound machines actually have light projections of different shapes, like moons and stars, which are great for helping overtired kids settle down and fall asleep.
• While some people like to have their sound machine on throughout the night, others prefer to have it turn off once they are asleep. Many sound machines come with timer features, such as 30, 60 or 90 minutes. After the time has passed, the machine turns off by itself.
• If you have trouble falling asleep anywhere that’s not your bed, opt for a small sound machine that’s easily portable. This way, you can take it with you wherever you go to help it feel more like home, and to help you fall asleep and stay asleep, no matter what noises are around.
• For those that are tech savvy, having a sound machine you can control with your mobile phone may be an attractive choice. You can control the settings via an app instead of on the sound machine itself.