These three apps are the best free White Noise apps for achieving better sleep. Whether you’re at home or in a hotel, they work on babies and adults alike. White noise apps are cheaper than a sound machine, have a greater variety of sounds, and can be used on you phone, tablet, or with an external speaker over Bluetooth, Airplay, Google Chromecast, or via an audio jack.

Today’s fast paced and technologically driven world has made sleep a luxury.  In the past one might have boasted on how much one can accomplish with less sleep.  However, studies have shown that a lack of sleep can reduce one’s cognitive abilities and ability to focus.  While caffeine can give you a nice boost in the morning, its results are short-lived, and eventually the sleep debt will be hard to overcome. We now know that sleep is valued for improving one’s health, focus, creativity and cognitive abilities.

Once you become a parent, sleep is one of the first things you sacrifice. The responsibilities of parenthood are stressful, tiring, and full of sacrifices. Caring for babies requires strong mental fortitude while enduring years of sleep deprivation. No matter how well prepared or physically fit a person may be, lack of sleep will reduce your cognitive abilities and make you irritable.  One proven method to get infants and younger babies to sleep longer is to play white noise or soothing ambience sounds.  Once your baby is off to sleep you too can easily fall asleep to the same sounds yourself.

White noise apps help you fall asleep and stay asleep by masking other noises such as snoring, street sounds, dogs barking, etc.  For others, the room may be too quiet to fall asleep in and the white noise adds a relaxing ambience.  White noise apps are also useful in relaxation, increased focus and creativity.

Below are three of the best White Noise apps for achieving better sleep.

Deep Sleep Sounds

White Noise and Deep Sleep Sounds offers the easiest to use UI and a great collection of high quality sounds to help you fall into a deep sleep.  It includes actual White Noise as well as Brown and Pink Noise.  The app has some of the best recordings of mechanical and nature sounds such as fan, vacuum, hairdryer, rain, thunder, and ocean waves.

This app really shines for parents with features that help babies fall asleep faster.  Have a fussy baby, use the play on launch or 3D Touch features to immediately calm your child. The recordings are seamlessly looped and gently fade in and out so your little one isn’t startled.

The app includes a free and a paid version.  The free version lets you play sounds an hour at a time which is generally more than enough time to fall asleep.  The paid upgrade lets you play sounds continuously and gets you access to several new sounds.

Download free for iOS on the App Store.

White Noise

White Noise by TMSOFT is one of the first White Noise apps to be released for the iPhone.  They have one of the largest selection of sounds.  However, downloading additional sounds requires a second “Marketplace” app which is a bit cumbersome.

Download for iOS on the App Store.

Relax Melodies

Relax melodies offers a 5 day program that claims will help you overcome insomnia, and restore your health by getting the sleep you deserve. Their service doesn’t end in the bedroom though, as you can use the app in other relaxation activities like the spa, in a yoga session, a massage, or even a light nap. Playing relax melodies in the background will multiply the effects of your relaxation activities.

Download for iOS on the App Store.

We all deserve a good night’s sleep. I hope that these apps help you as much as they have helped me and my family.