White, Pink, and Brown Noise, Nature and Wellbeing

Written By Hugh Asher

23rd October 2022

Young man with ADHD on the sea shore

In the same way that there are different colours of light, there are also said to be different ‘colours’ of sound. There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about different kinds of noise, such as ‘Brown Noise’ and ‘Pink Noise’ and the beneficial effects of each of these different kinds of noise. For example Brown Noise has shown promising results when used with people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in enhancing their ability to focus and concentrate and others claim that Pink Noise improves memory and enhances sleep and improves attention, whilst others say they reduce their stress and can help them to relax.

By mindfully looking out for different examples of these types of noises, and noticing their different qualities and effects, you can start to notice the colours of the noise in the soundscape around you.

Sound Waves, Frequency and Amplitude

Sound waves can be broken down into two main characteristics, frequency and amplitude. As frequency suggests, this refers to frequency with which the waveform vibrates (the number of waves in a second) and is usually measured in hertz (or hz) with one hertz being one vibration per second (which would be inaudible to the human ear that can distinguish sounds from about 20 hertz upwards). Amplitude is the power of the waves or the size of the waves.

A Vintage Radio on a Chair in a Field

White Noise

If you add together all of the colours of light in the visible spectrum, then you get ‘White Light’. White Noise is the auditory equivalent of White Light, comprising sound across the full range of audible frequencies at an equal amplitude, such as the static produced by an untuned television or radio or the sound of an electric fan.

In nature, the sound of a big waterfall is thought to be very close to White Noise.

Historically ‘white noise’ machines have been used to help people to sleep or to block out the sensations created by tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing sensation in your ears).

Pink Noise

Pink Noise is like White Noise, but with more sound at the lower frequencies making it more soothing for many people as the human ear tends to be more sensitive sounds at the higher end of the audible frequencies. Technically, the amplitude of Pink Noise halves as the frequency doubles.

Pink noise includes a variety of natural sounds including steady rain, the wind in the trees and running water in a river or stream. It is also the deep sound of a human heartbeat. Many people have found that Pink Noise can help them to concentrate and improves memory and information retention.

Sound Spectrum Analysis Graph
Pink Noise Spectrum

The graph on the left is the noise frequency profile from the stream in the video, and the graph on the left is from a commercial Pink Noise Generator. You can see that the patterns are roughly similar.

Brown Noise

The reduction in amplitude as frequency increases is more marked in Brown Noise, so it contains even less higher frequency and more low frequency sounds than Pink Noise. In nature examples of Brown Noise includes water in rapids, heavy rain and the sounds of waves on the seashore. The naming of other ‘colours’ of sound may have started with Brown Noise, as the name originated in the 1800s and comes from Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist, who discovered ‘Brownian motion’ that describes the random movement of particles. Brown Noise is said to mimic that pattern of random movement, with sound signals that change at random, from one moment to the next.

Green Noise

Green Noise is at the centre of the frequency spectrum with a range strongest around 500hz - the ambient noises in nature are predominantly at this frequency.


Experience 'Pink Noise’ watching and listening to a longer video of a Highland Stream:

Other ‘Colours’ of Noise

There are several other ‘colours’ of noise, but their beneficial effects have not yet been identified.

Blue Noise

Blue Noise is the reverse of Pink Noise and is mainly made up of high frequency noise making a hissing sounds that at high volumes can be quite harsh and has a quite intense version sometimes referred to as Violet or Purple Noise (which is the inverse of Brown Noise).

Black Noise

Using the colour metaphor, Black Noise is used to refer to the total absence of sound. To the human ear, Black Noise can best be described as complete silence.

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Hugh Asher

I’m Hugh and I’m a Certified Forest Bathing Guide and Forest Therapy Practitioner, having trained with the Forest Therapy Institute and the Forest Therapy Hub. My purpose in life is to inspire people to improve their wellbeing, and to help people to help and inspire others to improve their wellbeing. I do this through promoting greater nature connection as I am a passionate believer in the benefits to health and wellbeing that nature and increased connection to nature can bring.

Professionally, I have worked for over twenty years supporting people experiencing: mental health problems; autism; learning disabilities; school exclusion; experience of the care system; and a history of offending behaviour. Currently I am the ‘Recovery Through Nature Lead’ in a residential rehab for people experiencing drug and alcohol problems.

I have a PhD in Therapeutic Relationships, but Dr. Hugh makes me sound too much like a Time Lord.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugh-asher/
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