Curated Sound Mix

Ocean and Pink Noise for Restful Sleep

Pink noise runs steady while the waves rise and fall over it, for nights when the room feels too quiet.

100%

This mix layers

Open in mixer

If this becomes the mix you want every night, the Slo app keeps it and starts it again in a tap, on iOS, Android and Mac.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

What ocean waves and pink noise cover

Pink noise is a soft hiss, gentler than white noise and easier to leave on for a long stretch. The hiss is the useful part, because it blurs sounds at the pitch of voices, doors and dishes better than a deep rumble does. Ocean waves add slow movement on top, so the room does not sound like a machine. What this pairing will not do much about is a bus outside or bass through the floor, which need the deep rumble of brown noise; the rain and brown noise mix is built for that. And no sound removes speech, so words go soft and never silent.

Where it fits in the evening

Put it on while you read or stretch, not at the moment you turn the light off, so you hear it at an ordinary volume and can decide. Ocean recordings swell and settle, and a swell is a change, which is the thing a light sleeper wakes on. If that is you, keep the steadier pink noise in front and the waves well behind it. Phone speakers thin everything out, so earbuds you can lie on or a small speaker across the room will sound closer to what you expect. Keep it quiet enough to hear your alarm or someone calling you, and take it as a comfort at bedtime and not a fix for a bad night.

Turning the waves up or down

If each swell pulls your attention forward, drop the ocean to about 25 and the mix settles into something much more even. If pink noise is the part you keep hearing, lower it a few points and leave the waves alone. Small speakers lose the lowest part of a wave, so where you put the speaker matters as much as the sliders; a shelf facing a wall is a good first try. Stop adjusting when you cannot tell where one sound ends and the other begins, and use Save mix if you want the same setting tomorrow.

Explore the sounds in this mix

Listen to each layer on its own: Pink Noise and Ocean Waves. Or start from scratch in the free online sound mixer.

Rain and Brown Noise for Deep Sleep Brown noise covers the traffic and the boiler, and rain softens the sharper sounds inside the room. Brown Noise and Ocean for Travel Sleep Deep rumble with waves in the distance, so a strange room sounds more like the one you sleep in. Ocean and Green Noise for Stress Relief Rolling waves over a steady hiss, for ten minutes when you need the room to feel less busy.

Frequently asked questions

Which sound leads when it opens?

Pink noise starts at 62% and ocean waves at 36%, so the steady hiss carries the mix and the waves move over it.

Is pink noise gentler than white noise?

Most people find it gentler. White noise is brighter, it sounds louder at the same setting, and it wears on some listeners over a long night.

Can I make it stop on its own?

Yes. The mixer offers a 15, 30 or 60 minute timer, and you can also leave it running and stop it yourself.