White-noise review finds mixed sleep benefits across ages
Results depended on the sleep measure: longer full-day sleep in young children did not establish longer nighttime sleep.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
White noise showed benefits for selected sleep outcomes, with results differing across measures. Infants and toddlers slept longer across a full day, but nighttime sleep duration showed no statistically significant difference. Adult and older patient groups had improved sleep-quality questionnaire scores. These results do not establish a consistent benefit for every population or sleep outcome.
This abstract-based account is limited by differences among studies and their methodological quality. Sparse evidence prevented additional sensitivity analyses for several age and care-setting subgroups.
What researchers found
Difference in 24-hour total sleep time
Mean difference in infants and young children versus unspecified controls; 95% CI 67.80 to 207.23. Treatment duration unreported.
Difference in 12-hour nighttime sleep time
Mean difference in infants and young children versus unspecified controls; 95% CI -39.91 to 245.04. Not statistically significant; treatment duration unreported.
Other infant outcomes
Awakenings decreased and nighttime sleep efficiency improved. Full-day efficiency and time awake after initially falling asleep showed no statistically significant benefit, leaving a mixed pattern across infant sleep measures.
Patient questionnaires tell less
Adult findings concerned sleep-quality questionnaire scores, with substantial variation among adult studies. Improvements across age or care-setting subgroups do not establish that white noise works better in a particular subgroup.
The original publication
Impact of white noise on sleep quality across age groups and in critically ill/non-critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Ding Y, Sun X, Yin J et al.
Sleep Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41151421
- Record checked
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