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"White Noise" Can Harm Babies and Slow Speech Development: Is It True?
Many parents turn on some melodies, sounds, "white noise" to help the baby fall asleep faster and not wake up from random sounds. According to a survey by the American The Sleep Doctor, almost a third of parents (37%) do this. And 45% of them use "white noise".
In essence, “white noise” is a quiet hissing sound, reminiscent of the sound a TV makes when the channel turns off and a white grid appears on the screen. There is also “brown noise.” This is a low, dense, and deep sound, somewhat similar to the noise of a car engine idling. And “pink noise,” which has a lower frequency than “white,” resembles the sound of wind or rain outside the window.
There are entire "concerts" of these noises on the Internet, lasting 5-6-8 hours. When I turn them on, the child is sleeping.
What are those soothing sounds that might help you sit quietly for an hour or two, especially after you've put a fussy baby to bed? Nope! The DailyMail quotes April Benacich, a leading sleep expert at Rutgers University, as saying that this background noise could be doing more harm than good.
- The constant use of background noise can hinder a child's language development, which begins before birth, when a baby in the womb hears its mother's voice, says April Benacich. - The monotonous tones of white noise can disrupt the acoustic circuits in a child's brain, disrupting the synapses that help children understand and learn language. After all, your child's brain is constantly interpreting every sound. And to lay down language "modules," children, even very young ones, recognize repetitive sounds, memorize and develop their native language. Your child's brain can detect subtle changes in sound, which helps the brain become more involved in processing sound. However, the constant use of "white," "brown," or "pink" noise drowns out these necessary sounds and hinders skill development, which can ultimately affect future performance (such as information comprehension) in schools.
Doctors acknowledge that the basic connections are formed while the child is awake, but they still claim that “white noise” can interfere with the brain’s functioning during sleep. Neuroplasticity is the ability to develop and adapt by creating new neurons and connections. However, if parents use white noise, children who sleep 12 to 18 hours a day will be exposed to white noise for several hours, which will inevitably affect their harmonious development.”
But what if your child has trouble sleeping because he or she is startled by completely random sounds, and white noise helps even out the background noise?
- Turn on relaxing music: sounds of nature, ocean waves, heartbeat, quiet songs, etc. All this helps to properly “tune” your child’s brain and works much better than simple “white noise,” says April Benacich.
Parental Silence, Not White Noise, Affects Development
"There are no studies proving that white noise is harmful during sleep for infants, and there are no studies showing clear benefits of white noise during sleep," says Irina Zavalko, MD, PhD, neurologist and sleep scientist. - In fact, 24-hour exposure of rats to white noise did affect the development of their auditory cortex. But when we talk about white noise to put a child to sleep, we mean turning it on only at night and only when your child is sleeping during the day. Practice shows that white noise and other mixed-frequency sounds are indeed useful for small children. It is a kind of analogue of earplugs, which, for example, drown out sharp extraneous noises, car horns or rumble. There are also direct effects. White noise can be associated with falling asleep, so it is easier for children to fall asleep. In general, I would like to note that humans and children have never lived in a situation of complete silence before. Quite recently, noise-absorbing plastic windows were installed in our typical apartments. Humans have evolved to sleep in the presence of natural sounds: wind, rain, crackling fire, and other people's voices. These sounds are natural to us. Just as it is natural for parents to communicate and talk to their children when they are awake. Experts, especially those of the American Academy of Pediatrics, claim that the increase in speech delays in modern children, as well as the slowdown in speech development in general, is not due to the use of white noise during sleep, but to the fact that parents prefer white noise. Instead of live communication, turn on cartoons or music while you are waking up. By the way, there is another advantage if your child gets used to falling asleep to white noise. Parents can rest more, but still achieve complete rest, without the need to rock or jump on an awake child every minute. So give him more warmth, care and love while he is awake.
"Consistent, uniform background sounds (white noise, as well as sounds of nature) have a calming effect on many babies. This is evident both from many years of professional practice and from the personal experience of parents," says expert Elena Muradova, founder of the BabySleep Children's Sleep and Development Center. - Every mother knows what is best for her child. If white noise helps you sleep better, it is worth trying. Unlike the "white noise" that comes from short sleep, lack of sleep for a child is clearly harmful to both parents and the child, who has to shake the child vigorously all night to wake him up. As soon as your child falls asleep at night and the house becomes quiet, you can turn it off. For example, when your parents themselves go to bed.
There are also safety recommendations. This applies to any background sound, be it "white noise" or a relaxing melody.
- The volume should not exceed 50 dB (about the sound of heavy rain outside an open window).
- Place the sound source at a distance of 1 to 1.5 meters from the child's head.
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