Almost 1 in every 2 Generation Z adults uses white noise to help them get to sleep at night, a poll says.
In the survey from Talker Research, 1,000 U.S. adults were asked: "Do you typically use white noise or other sounds to help fall asleep?"
The results highlighted Gen Z's apparent reliance on sleep sounds, with 49 percent of respondents born between 1997 and 2006 answering yes. This was significantly more than in any other age group.
The next highest percentage found among any other age group was that of millennials. The poll said 41 percent of respondents born between 1981 and 1996 used white noise and other sounds.
Then comes Generation X just behind, with 40 percent of adults born between 1965 and 1980 answering yes when asked if they use white noise or other sounds to get to sleep.
From there, the survey results highlighted a steep decline in use among the older generations. Just 32 percent of baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, used white noise and other sounds to sleep. The figure dropped even further, to just 9 percent, among the Silent Generation, born between 1925 and 1945.
The sleep benefits of white noise are well documented. In 2021, a study published in the journal Sleep Medicine said researchers conducted an experiment involving 10 adult participants recruited from a New York City sleep clinic.
In each instance, the participant was chosen based on previous reports of high levels of environmental noise where they sleep at night. For one week, they slept with white noise in the background, followed by another week with no noise.
The researchers found that the white noise provided a significant boost to sleep levels among participants. But why does Gen Z in particular appear to be turning to solutions like white noise for help in getting to sleep.
Chelsea Perry, a diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and owner of Sleep Solutions, a company offering alternatives to continuous positive airway pressure solutions for snoring and sleep apnea, has a theory.
"White noise can be a powerful sleep aid, especially for Gen Z, who are often immersed in a digital environment where silence is scarce," Perry told Newsweek. "It works by masking background sounds that might otherwise be disruptive and can create a consistent auditory environment that the brain finds relaxing."
Perry believes this generation's near-constant immersion in the digital world of smartphones and computer screens has played a key role in the emergence of white noise as an increasingly valuable sleep tool.
"For Gen Z in particular, the dependence on white noise could stem from the high exposure to screens and constant stimulation. Their minds may be more conditioned to need a form of soft noise as a signal to unwind," Perry said. "Using white noise might offer a calming transition, helping counteract the overstimulation from phones and other devices."
The findings come from a survey that also highlighted the high proportion of Americans struggling to get enough sleep every night.
English (US) ·