Health
Common sleep aid could be quietly interfering with your rest, study suggests
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Think your sound machine is helping you sleep? It might be doing the opposite.
A new study from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine found that listening to pink noise at bedtime could disturb REM sleep (dream sleep) and sleep recovery.
The research, published in the journal Sleep, found that earplugs were significantly more effective at blocking out traffic noise during sleep.
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The researchers observed 25 healthy adults between the ages of 21 and 41, in an eight-hour, seven-night sleep lab simulation, according to a Penn Medicine press release.
The participants said they did not previously use noise to help them sleep, and did not have any sleep disorders.
Pink noise could disrupt REM sleep, according to Penn Medicine research. (iStock)
During the experiment, the participants slept under different sound exposures, including aircraft noise, pink noise, aircraft noise with pink noise, and aircraft noise with earplugs. The participants completed tests and surveys each morning to gauge sleep quality, alertness and other health effects.
Exposure to aircraft noise was associated with about 23 fewer minutes spent in the deepest stage of sleep compared to no noise, the study found.
Earplugs prevented this decline in deep sleep “to a large extent,” the release stated.
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Pink noise at 50 decibels, which sounds similar to “moderate rainfall,” was associated with almost a 19-minute decrease in REM sleep.
Aircraft noise and pink noise combined led to “significantly shorter” REM and deep sleep compared to noise-free nights. Time spent awake was also 15 minutes longer with this combination, which was not observed with solo aircraft or pink noise.
Earplugs were found to improve sleep quality among study participants. (iStock)
Participants said their sleep felt “lighter,” the overall quality was worse, and they reported waking up more frequently when exposed to aircraft or pink noise compared to no noise, unless they used earplugs.
Lead study author Mathias Basner, M.D., Ph.D., professor of sleep and chronobiology in psychiatry, noted that REM sleep is important for “memory consolidation, emotional regulation and brain development.”
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“Our findings suggest that playing pink noise and other types of broadband noise during sleep could be harmful — especially for children whose brains are still developing and who spend much more time in REM sleep than adults,” he wrote in the release.
Basner noted it’s common for parents to place sound machines near their newborns or toddlers, with a “good intention” of helping them fall and stay asleep.
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There were some positive effects of pink noise, he said, including that it mitigated some deep sleep reduction and sleep fragmentation caused by “intermittent” environmental noise.
“If low amounts of deep sleep and sleep fragmentations are someone’s main sleep issues, pink noise could be overall beneficial for them,” he said.
Importance of sound sleep
Individuals cycle through periods of deep sleep and REM sleep multiple times throughout the night, according to Penn Medicine. Deep sleep is important for physical restoration, memory consolidation and the clearing of toxins in the brain.
“Deep and REM sleep complement each other and collectively guarantee that we wake up restored in the morning, ready for the next day,” the release stated.
Pink noise introduces a “constant stimulus” for the brain to process, a sleep doctor said. (iStock)
Dr. William Lu, a San Francisco sleep expert and medical director of Dreem Health, said these findings are a “significant pivot” from the sound machine trend.
“While pink noise might mask external disruptions, it introduces a constant stimulus that the brain still has to process,” he told Fox News Digital. “The most concerning finding is that we may be unknowingly sacrificing segments of our REM sleep.”
Differences between ambient noises
Different types of noise could potentially have different impacts on sleep, Lu acknowledged.
White noise translates as “equal energy across all frequencies” and sounds like harsh radio static, the sleep expert said. Brown noise emphasizes lower frequencies, resulting in a “deep, bass-heavy rumble” like distant thunder or a heavy waterfall.
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While pink noise also has more energy at lower frequencies, but not as deep as brown, it creates a “perceptually balanced” sound like steady rainfall or wind.
“The study suggests that pink noise acts as a continuous auditory load that specifically fragments and reduces REM sleep,” Lu summarized.
Based on this type of research and data, the expert said he does not recommend using a sound machine as a “first-line” sleep aid in his own practice.
It’s common for parents to place sound machines near their newborns or toddlers while they sleep, with “good intention,” the researcher said. (iStock)
More research needed
The researchers concluded that the impact of pink noise and other audio sleep aids needs to be studied more thoroughly.
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“Overall, our results caution against the use of broadband noise, especially for newborns and toddlers, and indicate that we need more research in vulnerable populations on long-term use, on the different colors of broadband noise, and on safe broadband noise levels in relation to sleep,” Basner said.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the researcher noted that the study, funded by the FAA, does have limitations — including that it did not investigate the effect on sleep when pink noise is used for longer periods of time.
The study was “relatively small,” and more research is necessary to weigh long-term impacts, the researchers said. (iStock)
The study was also relatively small, Basner said, and the researchers haven’t yet examined differences between individuals.
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“Until we have more research, I would recommend that if somebody wants to use pink noise, they should do it at the lowest sound level that still works for them — and if falling asleep is the main problem, put the machine/app on a timer so that it shuts off after the subject falls asleep,” he advised.
“Also, I would probably discourage general use [for] newborns and toddlers until we have more information.”
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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