Free White Noise & Soothing Sounds for Baby Sleep
Mix one ambient sound with one soothing sound — they play together.
Ambient
65%
Womb & soothing
50%
Now mixing
Nothing selected — tap a sound
65%
50%
Sleep timer
Fades out gently when the timer ends. Why we default to a timer.
Why it may help
Steady sound can mask the door slam or the dog that wakes a baby up. In a small 1990 trial, 80% of newborns fell asleep within five minutes with white noise, compared with 25% without it. A 2025 meta-analysis found more total sleep and fewer wake-ups in babies and toddlers, but no change in night sleep alone, and the studies were mixed in quality. It may help. It isn’t a guarantee. Read the research.
What to watch for
Volume. A 2014 study in Pediatrics played 14 infant sleep machines at full volume. Every one went over 50 dBA, the noise limit used for hospital nurseries, when measured 30 cm away. Three went over 85 dBA, the level where adult workplace limits start after 8 hours. See the hearing research.
Safe-use basics
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises keeping the machine away from your baby, the volume low, and use under 8 hours. Never put it in the crib or on the rail. About 50 dB at your baby’s ear is a sensible target, and you can check it with a phone app. How to measure it.
How to use hushnap
- Tap a background sound (rain, waves, fan, white, pink or brown noise and more). It starts playing right away.
- Optionally add one soothing sound on top: heartbeat, womb, shush or hum.
- Set each volume with its own slider. Start low, because loudness depends on your phone or speaker.
- Pick a sleep timer: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or unlimited. The sound fades out gently at the end.
- Put the phone or speaker across the room from the crib, never in it or on the rail.
Every sound is synthesized live in your browser, so there’s nothing to download and no account to make. See what each sound looks like.
Popular guides
- Is White Noise Safe for Babies? What the Research Says What the studies and the AAP actually say about volume, distance and duration, and what nobody has proven yet.
- How Loud Should a Baby Sound Machine Be? The 50 dB Figure, Explained Where the 50 dB benchmark comes from, what the AAP actually says, and how to set your sound machine’s volume safely at home.
- How to Measure Your Sound Machine’s Volume With Your Phone A step-by-step way to check the level at your baby's crib, and how far to trust a phone app.
- Should You Run White Noise All Night? Timers and Fade-Outs The AAP advises under 8 hours of sleep machine use. A baby’s night is often longer, so here’s when a timer makes sense.
- White Noise vs. Pink Noise vs. Brown Noise: What's the Difference? What the noise colors actually are, what sleep research tested (almost all in adults), and why no color is proven better for babies.
- Parent Sleep Deprivation in the First Year: What Research Shows How much sleep new parents really lose, how long it lasts, two hazards of exhaustion, and when tiredness is a reason to talk to a doctor.
This is general information, not medical advice. Every baby is different, and none of this replaces guidance from your pediatrician. Each guide lists the studies and official sources behind it.