Is white noise ruining my sleep?

[whojamaflip]

I've been struggling with sleep for the last year or so mainly due to stress, menopause, anxiety etc so it was suggested I use white noise to try and help.

I use rain sounds and wave sounds and it works and I'm asleep within 5 mins.

I've set the noise for 30 mins and it then switches off but I'm now finding I'm waking up about an hour later - wide awake and not groggy but still tired? Then need the white noise to get back over again.

So rinse and repeat through the night and I'm waking up knackered in the morning.

I'm now thinking using the white noise has actually messed up my sleep patterns more than it's helped.

Any thoughts or advice gratefully received, Thankyou

Hey, have you tried just keeping the white noise on continuously throughout the night?

Just leave it running.
I do.

Another vote for continuous play

Leave it on? If mine for some reason switches off it wakes me up! I use brown noise as I find it works better for me and just leave it running on the Alexa til morning.

I have a fan on all night all year round and part of it is for the noise. It does make it hard to go anywhere without a fan though……..

Whole household of continuous white noise here.

Yep same here

Continuous white noise here too. I use the app “Rain Rain”

Why are you switching it off? Just keep it running. It’s harmless isn’t it?

Leave it running.

I used a white noise machine in my kids room and because we live in a flat I got so used to it. I really struggled with sleep when we stopped using it.

I don't understand why you don't leave it on?

My dh is the same. I struggle to fall asleep with his loud whirring noise going though. Between that and his snoring I feel like I'm in a ship's engine room. Everytime it stops (he relies on youtube since his whitenoise machine died) he turns it up louder - sometimes it feels like the room is vibrating.

While there's no harm to it, it is something you then rely on to sleep which I dont feel is great for sleep hygiene - nothing to back that up apart from they tell you not to let babies become reliant on something to sleep!

The fastest way for me to drop off is putting on a film on low volume, I wake 2-4 times, thanks menopause, sometimes I can drop back asleep easily other times I'm awake an hour or more before I give in and put film on again. It's not good sleep practice, but it's that or no sleep, I've watched the clock go round far too often.