pink noise

[ pingk noiz ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a noise signal related to white noise but lacking uniformity, having less power at higher frequencies and more power at lower frequencies; a gentle, steady background sound, like lapping waves or windblown leaves, that filters out distracting or sleep-disturbing noises: higher in pitch than brown noise.

pink noise

noun

1. noise containing a mixture of frequencies, but excluding higher frequencies

Word History and Origins

Origin of pink noise¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise — a rainbow of soothing sounds — and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response.

From Seattle Times

To understand pink noise, start with white, the most familiar of the color noises.

From Seattle Times

Pink noise turns down the volume on those higher frequencies, so it sounds lower in pitch and more like the natural sound of rain or the ocean.

From Seattle Times

Scientists at Northwestern University are studying how short pulses of pink noise can enhance the slow brain waves of deep sleep.

From Seattle Times

Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Dr. Roneil Malkani, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

From Seattle Times