Can pink noise enhance sleep and memory? Early research drives a color noise buzz

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

White noise is frequently used to mask background sounds and it now has competition in a rainbow of colors. There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response. The science is new with only a few small studies behind it. That hasn’t stopped thousands of people from listening to hours of these noises on YouTube and on meditation apps. Scientists at Northwestern University are studying how short pulses of pink noise can enhance the slow brain waves of deep sleep.