In my blog entitled Health Care Trends I Am Watching in the New Decade from my February 2020 Newsletter, I mentioned that I believe that one of the greatest health trends to continue in to this new decade will be the ongoing study of both the quality and quantity of sleep and its impact on our overall health.

To reiterate from earlier writings, beneficial habits to incorporate when working towards good sleep hygiene include:

• Maintaining a consistent bedtime routine
• Turning all electronics off 1 hour before bedtime
• Not eating 3 hours before bedtime
• Sleeping in a cool room
• Sleeping in darkness
• Removing electronics from your bedroom, or at the very least, keeping them 2 feet away from your bed
• Trying to get to be around 10pm

Something New!

I wanted to let you in on another tool that I have added to my arsenal of sleep strategies.

White noise.

Let’s set the stage here of my reality.

My hearing seems to be the only one of my senses that continues to increase in sensitivity as time goes by.

I wake to children roaming, doors closing and dogs snoring.  Darkness, coolness and time of retiring to my room just don’t stand up to the sound challenges that I face nightly.

I needed another bullet so I gave listening to white noise a try and it works like a charm.

What is white noise you ask?

White noise is a fuzzy sound. It’s like all of possible the sounds that you could hear melding in to one peaceful sssssss.  To be a bit more scientific though, white noise is a combination of all of the different frequencies of sound.

And this beautiful consistent noise masks other sounds that cause me anxiety at night.

Different Colour Noises  

White noise isn’t the only ‘colour’ noise.

There is pink noise, brown noise, blue noise and green noise just to name a few.

Basically each differs in frequencies.

Additional Benefits of White Noise

Using white noise for achieving better sleep is only one of the many benefits that people like me have noted by listening to it.

Other benefits reported include:

1. Better concentration
2. Better meditation
3. Lessening of anxiety
4. Reducing tinnitus
5. Better sleep for babies

White noise has been a godsend for me.

“Alexa play white noise” is my new night time mantra.