These sounds are usually referred to as noise colors and there are three most common types which are white, pink, and brown noise color.

Noise color sounds will help and remove any background noise thanks to the frequency levels used. It will put you to sleep more easily and will make sure you aren’t waking up during the night which is really important.

As you now know that there are three most common color noise sounds. But something you don’t know is how they work.

Also, you don’t need to necessarily sleep to these types of sounds, as they can also help you improve your concentration when needed or just help you relax after a long day of work.

White color noises for sleep

White noise are basically frequencies that are equally flat all the time. It might be hard to understand it, however, after a few examples, you will understand. They are great at removing the background noise which is really helpful during the night.

Waking up in the middle of the night is bad for your sleep since you are stopping the sleeping cycles each time you wake up. For example, a white color noise will help to remove the background noise and help you focus so you can fall asleep more easily while maintaining the sleep.

If your family members are noisy, or your neighbors are slamming their car doors way too early in the morning, white color noise could help you with that. It will remove the background noise and help you stay focused on the white color noise during your good night’s sleep.

As you now know that there are three most common color noise sounds. But something you don’t know is how they work.

Also, you don’t need to necessarily sleep to these types of sounds, as they can also help you improve your concentration when needed or just help you relax after a long day of work.

White color noises for sleep

White noise are basically frequencies that are equally flat all the time. It might be hard to understand it, however, after a few examples, you will understand. They are great at removing the background noise which is really helpful during the night.

Waking up in the middle of the night is bad for your sleep since you are stopping the sleeping cycles each time you wake up. For example, a white color noise will help to remove the background noise and help you focus so you can fall asleep more easily while maintaining the sleep.

If your family members are noisy, or your neighbors are slamming their car doors way too early in the morning, white color noise could help you with that. It will remove the background noise and help you stay focused on the white color noise during your good night’s sleep.

• Light sounds of rain
• Hissing steam
• Television static

There are many more examples, and I am sure light sounds of rain is a perfect example to understand the white color noise. Another example which many people will know is the static sound of the television when it’s set on a different frequency than it’s normally used to.

Most likely you get the idea, and you might wonder how does it actually help you to sleep better. Well, some people get sleepy just by listening to the white color noise.

It cancels the surroundings and your brain only focuses on that one particular type of noise. It helps you to concentrate and it will prevent your brain from overthinking things so it will help him relax more easily which leads to better sleep, and also you will be able to fall asleep faster than before.

Pink color noise is similar to the white color noises, however, it works a little bit different. White color noise uses higher frequencies which are equal all the time, while pink color noise uses lower frequencies at higher volumes.

People like to think of pink color noise as a white color noise, just with a bass sound added. It uses lower frequencies, however, it’s usually deeper than white color noise. For everyone who thinks that white color noises are harsh and thin, pink color noise might make them feel better. Pink color uses noises from all the spectrum at lower frequencies which makes the sound deeper and gentler sound.

While white color noise is one of the most known noises for improved sleep, pink color noise has the same benefits. It sounds different, however, it still provides better sleep by helping a person focus. Pink color noise doesn’t need to be used for sleeping purposes. It can be used for focusing on important things during work or studying for example. It also has the ability to alleviate headaches or even sooth babies and young children. Sleep sounds for babies and newborns are proven to help them sleep better.

Sleep sounds for babies and newborns is a common technique practiced by the parents nowadays.

Again, it might be hard to understand the difference between the sounds, and how do they actually work until you learn the examples and listen to them yourself.

• Heavy rain
• Rushing water
• Strong wind through leaves
• Air condition

While they still can cancel the background and benefit your sleep, they can be also used for focusing and relaxing. Heavy rain sounds for sleep and rushing water sounds are great examples, and they provide the difference between white color noises such as light rain sounds for sleep or static television sound.

Also, have you ever noticed how sleepy you get during the car rides on a highway, or train rides? It’s mostly because of the noise car or train produce when driving at the same speed. Although, temperature plays the big part as well. But a car or train consistent sound can be a good example of pink, or even maybe a brown color noise which I will mention later in this post.

Brown noise is the third color from the most common noise colors. It’s also the least researched one

Many people rely on the white or pink color noise, while brown color noise has a lot to offer as well. An interesting fact would be that the brown name doesn’t derive from a color name, yet from a person named Robert Brown. He discovered the Brownian motion that generates brown noise.

Brown color noise is similar to the pink color noise. However, it uses the low-frequency sounds but it takes them even further in order to create a noisy pattern.

It’s might be the reason why not many people like the brown color noise, however, there are still benefits for people who do like it.

Benefits of brown color noise would be better relaxation and meditation, improved focus, increased reading comprehension, and like other color noises, it benefits and improves sleep.

• Rushing water (like waterfalls or ocean waves)
• Low Roar
• Deep Hum
• Clothes Dryer
• Train Passing

You must have heard at least one of the examples, and it might not make sense right now such as how can the train passing be relaxing sounds for sleep, however, you would have to try it out and see for yourself the great benefits.

Usually, the deeper qualities of the noise are, the better they are for relaxation and sleeping purpose.

It’s up to you which type of sound you prefer more, and there isn’t the best or the worst color noise. It’s a matter of the personal preference, and there haven’t been done any studies to prove which type of sound is the most effective simply because of that reason.

Ocean sounds for sleep are a great example of brown color noise.

What’s New in 2025: Updated Insights and Recommendations

We’ve updated this page with fresh tips and tools to help you sleep better.

Here’s what’s new this year:

• Latest Research: Learn about the newest insights into how white, pink, and brown noises support better sleep and relaxation.
• New Recommendations: Discover updated advice on noise-canceling headphones and budget-friendly sleep gadgets.
• Improved Resources: We’ve linked to new guides, including the best warm winter blankets and budget noise-canceling devices.
• Fresh Examples: Expanded lists of sounds and practical tips make it easier than ever to find what works for you.
• Expert Advice: Remember, consulting a sleep specialist or expert in sound therapy can provide personalized solutions to improve your sleep.

Sleep machine is a device which produces mostly one or more types of the color noise.

It’s a white noise that people have found it’s the best color noise for improved sleeping. White color noise has the ability to reduce and remove the background noise which benefits and allows people to have a quality good night’s sleep.

Usually, when you’re woken up by a noise in the middle of a night, it’s due to the inconsistency in the same noise. That’s why white noise is good for sleep since it blocks out other inconsistent noises by providing quality consistent background noise which will help you fall asleep faster as well.

Sleep machines are made to produce quality consistent white noise for a better sleep. Although, as I have mentioned sleep machines are mostly made to produce white color noise, however, you will be able to find sleep machines that can produce other types of noise such as pink or brown.

It’s very simple to use a sleep machine as it has only a options to adjust the noise for your personal preference. There is usually a power button with timer included, volume button, and some sleep machines have the option to choose between a fan sound or white color noise.

Fan sound is more likely to be a pink color noise, however, some people can’t fall asleep without the sound of a fan, so that’s why most of the sleep machines come with that option. It’s also a great way to have a sleep machine which is able to produce white and pink color noise.

Overlooked tip – cover the basics with a good  blankie

You can experiement with relaxing sounds for sleeep, but that only covers after you’ve made sure you hav ethe basics covered.

One of the basic is temperature under the blanket – you need to be warm but still allow for breatheability for bodytemperature regulation. If you think this might be a problem for you, you should probably take a look at our guide on best warm winter blankets here.

Active noise canceling headphones or earbuds can do everything passive ones can, however, they have improved structure barriers that block the high-frequency sound waves.

There is a microphone placed inside the earcup which listens to the sounds that can’t be blocked passively, and then it has a little speaker which produces sound waves to block the external sounds. Thanks to the little speaker which produces sound waves, external sound waves can’t disturb our ears.

Although there is a little bit more technology involved in making the active noise canceling headphones, they’re still necessary for people who are battling with high-frequency noises on daily basis.

Also, if you are a regular flier, you might have come to conclusion by yourself that you should probably invest in a good pair of active noise canceling headphones.

Passive canceling headphones are mostly used by the workers who work with machines that produce high-frequency noises, especially inside the room. They use passive canceling headphones not to completely remove the external noise, but mostly to protect their ears from the noise.

Noise canceling earbuds are a great solution if you can’t fall asleep because of the different noises such bed creeks, or birds outside the window.

If you don’t like listening to any kind of noise such as fan sound during your sleep, you could probably help yourself with a good pair of passive earbuds.

Either if you decide to go for active or passive noise canceling headphones or earbuds, investing in one pair is really worth it and can help you sleep better with no noise, and they will also protect your ears from the high-frequency noise.

No matter what’s the reason you can’t sleep – sleep pillow sounds might help you and fix your problems.

Sleep Pillow is an app available on both Android and iOS smartphones, which comes with a lot of sounds specially designed to help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.

Serious sleep disorders might not be solved with the Sound Pillow app, however, if you are simply stressed or can’t sleep in the silence – relaxing sounds of this app will be perfect for you.

There are a lot of different sounds to help you sleep, and you will be able to set the timer as well to stop playing the chosen sound after some period of time. Sounds are expressed through photos, and for example, water sounds will be expressed with a photo of ocean or rain.

It’s mostly about the personal preference, and that’s why the Sleep Pillow is a great app for practicing and experimenting.

In my opinion, ocean sounds for sleep which can be found inside this app, are really great soothing sounds to get a good night’s sleep. However, on the other hand, many people prefer storm and thunderstorm sounds as their soothing sounds.

The complex systems within our bodies often resemble a clock: they are precise, rhythmical and, as long you commit yourself to following the path of a healthy lifestyle, they rarely skip a beat.

One of the most important cogs in this gigantic natural machine is called melatonin.

Some people jokingly refer to it as the Dracula of hormones, as it is only ever active during the night. The name is fitting if your internal clock is showing the right time – however, the insomnia stats show that the number of people suffering from some form of sleep disorders is on the rise.

About a third of us have brief episodes of insomnia, and for every 10th person the problem becomes life-altering and chronic.

Why is Melatonin so important?

Once the sun goes down and our surroundings are shrouded in increasing darkness, a tiny Pineal gland in our brain springs into action and releases melatonin into our blood.

The hormone functions as a signal that reminds us to head to bed and have a proper rest, thus maintaining our natural circadian rhythm, which demands us to be active during the day and relax when the night comes.

Regulating our sleeping schedule is melatonin‘s primary purpose – however, its work does not end there. It keeps our mood in check by protecting us from depression, anxiety and the effects of stress.

It lowers the risk of coronary disease, ensures proper functioning of the gallbladder and maintains the strength of the immune system.

Yet, shorctcuts like taking melatonin as a supplement for insomnia are only a short term solution and it comes with risks of its own, like the potential for a melatonin overdose.

Ways to go around fixing it naturally

Quick and convenient sleep supplements might seem tempting in such a predicament but they are not nearly as effective as natural ways to boost the Melatonin production.

There are two main elements that you need to look at and adjust accordingly in order to make your bodily clock run smoothly once again: light and food.

Adressing the issue of melatonin and blue light

Reduce your exposure to artificial light at least two hours before going to sleep. When it comes to the sources of artificial light, nothing disrupts your circadian rhythm as much as computer screens, TVs and mobile phones.

These are the primary sources of blue light that affect Melatonin production.

What you can do

Turn all of these devices off for the night, put them in a place which precludes the light from reaching you, or wear an eye mask. If pitch-black darkness makes you uncomfortable, use a candle instead.

You should also make sure to catch some natural sunlight during the day, as the pineal gland can only produce enough of the hormone during the night if it has remained completely inactive earlier on.

Tryptophan and melatonin

An essential amino acid called tryptophan is also important for those of you who are looking for natural ways to up your melatonin levels, as it facilitates the hormone’s production.

The highest amount of tryptophan can be found in foods like garbanzo beans, spirulina, cottage cheese, yoghurt, turkey, chicken, peanuts and pumpkin seeds.

What to avoid

When it comes to the products that you should avoid, coffee is, quite naturally, at the top of the list – it has been linked to significant drops in melatonin levels.

if you are having problems with kicking the coffeine addiction, you might consider substitutes like kava kava – you can see our guide on best kava kava supplements, extracts and powders for anxiety and sleep here.

Refrain from eating a large meal before bed or consuming sugary foods, as this can lead to blood sugar imbalances during the night and consequently disturb your natural sleeping patterns.

Melatonin is, after all, a natural hormone that is produced by the body because its natural functions require its presence, so the best ways to combat the imbalances that might occur as a result of our modern lifestyle have to come from nature as well.

Rather than heading straight to the pharmacy, try and make small adjustments to your daily schedule and harmful habits – you might be surprised to find out just how big of a difference such minute changes are often able to make in regards to the quality of sleep you get.

The confusion surrounding the topic can be easily explained if you take 5 minutes and read a few opinions, within minutes you’ll find opposing stances on using the supplement as a sleep aid for kids and toddlers.

Let’s take what the experts from the Mayo clinic – in 2015, they recommended against it, if you visit their website today you’ll find that they tweaked their opinion and their official viewpoint is now that “In children, Melatonin is likely safe for long-term use in recommended doses.”

Changes on where the science stands on the topic are only natural as the body of studies grows and they have more data to work with.

In the video below, Dr Craig Canapari, a pediatric sleep physician from Yale University lists the 5 things every parent must know about using the supplement.

It’s a must watch.

Credit: Dr Craig Canapary, MD

Everybody will agree that if you (or your pediatrician) do decide to see if the supplement can help you little one get better sleep, there are few additional safety layers to look for:

Parent satisfaction % with Tired Teddies

Parent satisfaction % with Luna Kids

Parent satisfaction % with the Shavshtya
melatonin liquid for kids

What’s the fuss about?

It is is the only hormone that’s available OTC in the US. Now, saying that it’s a hormone that you give to your child doesn’t sound great.

Let’s clarify – it’s not a gender-related hormone, it’s a sleep hormone – in other words, it is naturally secreted by a small gland in our brain (pinneal) and plays a crucial role in when we fall asleep, when we wake up and how good of a sleep we get.

It is not classified as a drug but as a supplement, and as such, it’s not regulated by the FDA.

Melatonin for children with autism

Children with autism are known to have sleep problems and some of them have low levels of the sleep-regulating hormone. They have problems falling asleep; they wake up at night often and have nightmares.

This is the reason why the supplement is commonly used as a part of a behavioral management plan and usually yields good results. There’s mounting evidence for that, you can read this interesting article that supports the claim on AutismSpeaks.org.

Melatonin for kids with adhd

More than a half of children with ADHD have sleeping problems, including difficulty falling asleep and daytime sleepiness.

Trials showed that doses ranging from 3–6 mg helped children with ADHD fall asleep quickly but there were some side effects like waking up at night and daytime grogginess.

Read more ProgressiveHealth.com

It is one thing to see some hairs left in your brush when you run it through your locks in the morning, but having them clog your shower drain every few days is an obvious problem.

If the amount of hair that you are losing clearly exceeds the designated one hundred, you might want to look at the number of hours that you dedicate to having a proper night‘s rest.

The latest scientific research suggests that the connection between these two elements is much stronger than we have prieviously thought it to be.

Lack of sleep means that your body will not be able to defend itself against the stressors of daily life, and stress, in its turn, might cause hormonal imbalances that speed up hair loss, make your hair more prone to damage and stunt its growth.

Your immune system weakens and it is reflected in the dullness and dryness of your beloved locks. If sleeplessness persists, much more serious issues might occur, such as a receding hair line, bald patches and even exacerbated hereditary hair loss conditions.

Not getting enough shut-eye is thus a problem that should not be dismissed and getting to grips with your erratic sleeping patterns might be your first step towards healthier, shinier tresses.

On the other hand, non-genetic hair loss can be cured completely by restoring normal sleep patterns and learning to manage daily stress.

Telogen effluvium is the name of a fairly common stress-induced condition that pushes the hair roots into a premature resting state and causes excessive shedding. It might take up to half a year for the sufferers of this ailment to notice full regrowth but the scalp does recover and it is certainly good news.

If you suspect that you might be suffering from any of the above conditions, making an appointment with a trustworthy hair specialist is a great idea. The specialist will be able to determine the exact cause of your hair loss and apply suitable treatment methods to help you regain those shiny locks. A lot of professional solutions revolve around a pharmaceutical product called minoxidil.

Clinical studies have proven that the medicine is capable of promoting hair growth and producing impressive final results. Keep in mind, however, that it tends to benefit female patients to a higher degree than men.

For those of you who are not ready to visit a hair specialist, cannot afford it or do not think that the issue at hand is quite that serious, there are a whole lot of natural remedies and DIY strategies out there that are well worth a try.

If the root cause of your hair loss is indeed lack of sleep, then finding ways to sleep more is, naturally, your first step towards healthy tresses. Giving yourself time to wind down before heading to bed is extremely important. Avoid working late, as your mind will struggle to relax after a period of increased activity.

You can always try supplementing your sleep regimen with mild OTC aid like Melatonin – bear in mind, however that, melatonin is not a long term solutions and there are risks involved with using it.

Finally, reduce the levels of your daily stress as much as possible. There are a lot of easy and incredibly effective ways to do that: namely, taking up yoga, jogging or any other kind of exercise, utilizing special breathing techniques, adjusting your work schedule in a way that allows you to feel less rushed during the day, and much more.

The key is not being afraid to experiment and give new strategies of dealing with stress a try – as long as you do that, you are sure to find something that works for you.

So is there a connection between hair loss and lack of sleep? The newest scientific discoveries surely uphold the hypothesis. It might seem worrying at first, as the recommended eight hours of sleep are rarely compatible with our modern lifestyle, but you might be surprised to find out just how much of a difference a proper night‘s rest can have on your well-being – and the state of your locks.

After all, sleeping your way to shiny hair is not at all a bad deal and it is good to know that the cure for your hair loss might also be an immensely pleasurable experience!

Sleep paralysis usually tends to “hit” young adults and teens and the experience itself is unpleasant and can cause a great discomfort. Some people never experienced it but to some it happens regularly, up to few times a month.

The main problem is that the episode happens suddenly, when the person is relaxed and most vulnerable and it usually ends on its own, so it leaves you with a feeling of fear and helplessness and often followed by vivid hallucinations.

Sleep paralysis stats

Connection to lucid dreaming

If you are reading this afraid of the experince, let us point out some data that clearly suggests that sleep paralysis is simply a trick of the mind, no matter how real the horror can feel.

People who explore the world of lucid dreaming (stimulating their mind to have concious dreams) are more likely to experince episodes of paralysis. The % among these people goes up to 40-42% (depending on which source you look at).

If there was anything “other-wordly” about the experince, there should be no difference in the numbers.

Let’s look at the stats among lucid dreamers – these are the responses they gave to the question, “Have your experienced sleep paralysis  and if yes, were you afraid?”

In the past it was believed that it’s a “work of a demons”. Scientific explanation is that the sleep paralyses is a disruption of sleep stages. We simply wake up at the “wrong” time, a bit earlier than our muscles.

Hypnagogic (predormital) sleep paralysis happens in the beginning of a sleep cycle, in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) stages when we are just starting to fall asleep and our brain activity starts to slow down and muscles become relaxed.

At that point we are less aware of our surroundings and don’t notice the changes around us or inside our body. However if we do become aware we can notice our inability to move or speak.

Hypnopompic (postdormital) paralysis occurs when we become conscious before the REM (rapid eye movement) phase has finished. The REM sleep is a stage when we have dreams during which our brain is very active to a level it works when we are awake, but our muscles are paralyzed.

Immobility of our limbs is actually a good thing because we can’t get up and act out the things we are dreaming of. So if our mind wakes up before our muscles in that stage we might experience it.

Stress, sleep deprivation, alcohol and drug abuse are known to be the triggers, and it also can be linked to other sleep disorders, from snoring to narcolepsy. Some mental conditions including anxiety, PTSD and depression are associated with it and it often “runs in family” so if one of your parents has experienced, it is more likely to happen to you.

You know you’re awake

The person experiencing hallucinations knows that they’re awake and if that occurs in a combination with paralysis it can be very disturbing. People with narcolepsy usually experience this during the day. The hallucinations can be followed with sleepwalking and sleep talking during the same night or as isolated episodes in different nights.

Two types of hallucinations

We distinguish two types of sleep related hallucinations: hypnogogic and hypnopompic. Hypnogogic can be more unpleasant because it often goes with sleep paralysis and the person is making a transition from wake state to sleep so any type of hallucination at that stage is more frightening in difference to hypnopompic when person wakes up and can relate any hallucination with a dream. There can also be the sensation of falling or being watched.

The blurred line between a dream and a hallucinations

Contrast between dream and hallucination is that the person after waking up clearly knows that she was dreaming while with hallucinations the line between dreams and reality is blurred so it can be very confusing. This phenomenon tends to happen to young adults and it’s most common between females.

What science says

There are a lot of scientific explanations for this phenomenon, the main ones are related to brain activity in REM sleep, overlapping dreams, hallucinations and humans fight or flight defense mechanism.

The thing is that we are most vulnerable in our beds, sleeping, so if you believe in demonic forces the science is not going to help you a lot. In some countries a part of the national folklore are the stories about the demons that steal your life at night

Perception in different cultures

In Fiji it’s perceived as the dead relative who came to finish some business; in Turkey it’s the demon who literally sits on your chest and takes your breath; in China it’s a ghost; in Iran it’s a demon who takes bodies and it’s related to a dark magic performed by someone who wants to harm you.

The one of the most popular entities to be blamed is the so called “shadow person” (shadow being, black mass), a human-like living shadow. Some people describe these dark silhouettes trying to jump on them and choke them, some say they are aliens. All of them agree that they want to do harm.

The common theme is that this is some evil-doing and you should be scared, but in the end nothing really bad happened to the people who shared these stories, except for the experience itself.

Here are some ways of dealing with it naturally that might help you:

Basics of lucid dreaming

If you are a believer or just want to try having a trippy experience here are some techniques for lucid dreaming:

• Know the triggers – same as with trying to prevent a weird dream experince, you have to know what provokes it to happen so you can induce it.
• Be prepared – keep a journal next to your bed and every morning write everything you can remember about the dreams you had that night, especially details that where clear indicators that you were dreaming (unrealistic things like dragons).
• Let go of fear – this one is tough, but you should start telling yourself that what you are experiencing is not real and nothing scary is actually happening. After that you can try to shift into a dream. Close your eyes if they are not closed already, relax and just sink into the feeling. Then make a declaration of the thing you want to dream about, for example: “I want to swim in the pink ocean”. Imagine yourself doing that and if you are lucky the dream will start to form and become realistic. Don’t stop reminding yourself that you are dreaming. If you are having any trouble just go with the flow. Follow the feeling that you have, if you feel something is pulling you just let yourself go.
• Don’t force it – if you feel the need to drift to sleep go for it. If you start panicking this will not work. You have to be conscious enough but relaxed.

Although it is scary and you can experience some trouble breathing it cannot cause death directly. You just have a feeling of asphyxiation but in reality there is nobody choking you.

Even a „sudden death syndrome“ has a medical explanation and it has nothing to do with the paralysis experience.

So, the answer is no, you can’t die from it, but you sure can feel like you are.

We already said that there is no cure for sleep paralysis but there are things you can do to stop it or deal with it better. Adopting a regular sleeping pattern is probably the first and most important step, try to go to bed at approximately same time each night, avoid caffeine and try to relax as much as you can before going to bed. You can read more here.

If your attacks don’t stop there are ways that will help you going trough this experience. When the episode happens try to stay calm as possible and observe the situation objectively.

Focus on controlling your breathing or moving a finger. Even trying to make a small noise can help ending the attack. Remember that it is just temporary, it’s something happening to a lot of people and it will soon pass.

Although the symphtom is scientifically explained the experience itself is so special that it’s often linked to paranormal forces and spirituality. It has a place in a lot of nations folklore.

Since ancient Mesopotamia we know the story about incubus, a female demon that torments people at night sitting on their chest, in Scandinavia they called her mara.

In British folklore it is known as old hag:

“This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, Making them women of good carriage.”

Queen Mab Speech, William Shakespeare

In Turkey people pray to Allah reading certain prayers from Qur’an to help them get rid of demons that are believed to cause it.

In south of US you can hear stories about „witch riding“

It’s clear that in a lack of medical research people held demons responsible for this phenomenon, and you can’t really blame them for that.

Conlusion – not to be feared, not to be ignored

For people that are experiencing this phenomenon it is of a great help to understand why it is happening and to have a logical explanation for the symptoms.

In some cases it can be a sign of a health problem like narcolepsy, so if this is something that quite often happens to you or you have some other symptoms it is recommended to visit a doctor.

Sleep paralysis on it’s own is seen like an isolated, harmless episode and it’s not treated as a disease or chronic disorder.

Last updated: 2021

Whether you realize it or not, light plays a crucial role in numerous biological functions.

The circadian clock uses light to determine when your body should be awake or asleep.

This internal process is also responsible for the regulation of hormone levels, metabolism, appetite, body temperature, immune system, and so forth.

Let’s dive into the science behind the circadian rhythm.

The human retina consists of photosensitive (ipRGC) cells that catch any light from the visible spectrum and transmit messages to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). These photoreceptors respond the most to the low wavelength of blue light (450–485 nm) and are least sensitive to the high wavelength of red light (625–740 nm).

The SCN is located in the hypothalamus and is responsible for how the sleep cycle works. It receives information about the illumination of your body. Then sends it to the pineal gland which releases melatonin – the sleep hormone

Spectral Colors: Wavelength (in nanometers):

Violet 380–450 nm

Blue 450–485 nm

Cyan 485–500 nm

Green 500–565 nm

Yellow 565–590 nm

Orange 590–625 nm

Red 625–740 nm

What it all means

“Simply put, when a healthy amount of red and blue light reaches the SCN during daylight hours, you will experience a good night’s sleep. Also, you will feel more energetic, have a good appetite, and balanced hormone levels.” shares Jonathan Prichard, CEO of Mattress Insider, “On the other hand, if you don’t go outside often enough and you aren’t exposed to natural daylight, you’ll probably have restless sleep, and often feel weary.” he adds.

How Poor Sleep Impacts Your Body

At first, sleep deprivation leads to irritation, unproductiveness, tiredness, bad memory, lack of concentration, mood swings, and more. When sleep disorders turn to chronic, they might cause a wide range of health problems.

Six unwanted consequences of chronic sleep deprivation:

1. Inflammation: People who sleep for too short or too long have an increased amount of inflammatory markers.
2. Weight gain: Not enough sleep causes hormonal disbalance. For example, it decreases the amount of Leptin, a hormone responsible for suppressing appetite. Abnormal sleep is also related to Type II diabetes.
3. Poor cognitive functions: Not enough sleep hurts vigilance and lowers your response times. Particularly, not getting enough sleep can impact cognitive functions connected to emotional data.
4. Weakened immune system: Poor sleep reduces the strength of your immune system thus making sleep-deprived people prone to viruses.
5. Risk of heart disease: Sleep disorders increase blood pressure and play a role in heart attacks and other cardio-vascular diseases.
6. Physical problems: High allergy sensitivity, hair loss, skin issues, and more.

The Dual Side of Blue Light

When you are outside you receive natural sunlight which covers the whole spectrum of light, including blue light. This type of illumination is extremely important for the regulation of your circadian clock.

Modern smart devices also emit blue light harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in this information-packed Forbes article.

So, when you work late on your computer or scroll through social media on your phone before bedtime, you actually tell your body to be alert, and awake.

If you try to fall asleep right after that, you won’t be able to quickly drift away even if you have the comfiest mattress and pillow.

Pro tip:

Activate night mode on your smartphone and reduce the brightness of the screen when you use it in the evening.

It’s a mistake to turn bright lights on in the middle of the night when you have trouble dozing off. You should not use the background sound from the TV to relax and fall asleep again. All of the artificial blue light has high color temperature and makes your brain think it’s daytime.

Check out the table below to compare the color temperature of various light sources:

Fun fact:

The aesthetic categorization of colors in warm and cool hues is actually reversed. Blue light has the highest color temperature and red – the lowest.

To ensure you fall asleep easier, avoid using your laptop or smartphone at least half an hour before bedtime. Substitute screen time with a good book, plans for the next day, or a compromise – a meditation app – you can read more here or sounds to help you fall asleep – you can read more here.

Is Red The Best Sleep Color to Induce Sleep?

As we mentioned above, red light has a lower color temperature than natural sunlight.

That’s why it has a reverse effect on the circadian rhythm compared to blue light.

If you are exposed to red light in the evening, your body will release more melatonin and you will naturally drift away.

With red light, it’s quite the contrary. It is one of the natural ways to promote the production of melatonin.

• Red light helps people experiencing severe migraines by significantly reducing the frequency of headaches.
• It enhances the cognitive functions of people suffering from traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Red light therapy is beneficial for inducing sleep among people with serious sleeping illnesses.
• It improves the quality of sleep after only a few light therapy sessions.
• It stimulates the release of melatonin and cuts down the time you need to fall asleep.

What About Green Light?

Scientists conclude that blue light suppresses the production of melatonin and thus affects the whole sleep cycle. But what is the case with green light?

Several clinical studies claim that green light has the same effect because it has a similar wavelength to that of blue light.

But one team had a different approach.

Researchers from Oxford University tested how different light affects the sleep cycle of mice. It turned out that it took mice less time to fall asleep when exposed to green light in comparison to blue and violet light (you can see the full sudy here).

However, we should take into consideration the fact that mice are nocturnal animals. So perhaps green is not the best sleep-inducing color for humans.

In other words, if you are exposed to green light before going to bed, you will probably have a hard time falling asleep.

Is It Bad to Sleep with a Nightlight On?

The answer depends on the nightlight color in your bedroom.

It is harmful to sleep with a blue or bright white light. Even if your eyes are closed, the illumination still gets detected through the eyelids. The brain confuses the synthetic light for natural daylight thus significantly decreases the amount of melatonin. In fact, all hormone functions are disrupted and might lead to various health problems.

It is okay to sleep with a red nightlight. As we mentioned above, it induces sleep and assists the circadian rhythm because it has lower color temperature.

Pro tip:

Place a red light in your bathroom or hallway if you often get up in the middle of the night.

This won’t affect your sleep cycle as much as the regular light will.

What Light to Wake up to?

Nighlight should have color temperature similar to sunset shades, it’s only logical that the light for waking up is the one that resembles sunrise.

In the summer, the sun is your natural alarm clock. When the rays enter your bedroom the circadian rhythm detects it’s time to wake up your body. But when it’s winter and the weather outside is gloomy, your biological clock needs external assistance.

A good idea is to invest in a bedside lamp that starts glowing half an hour before the time you need to wake up. Its light gradually changes from orange to white thus allowing you to gracefully exit the sleep cycle.

You will feel refreshed in the morning and you won’t hit the snooze button as many times as before.

Expert opinion of an experienced electrician

According to Jordan Vellutini, managing director of Westline Electricians Company, it’s a good idea to switch the lightbulb in your bedroom, bathroom or hallway with one emitting red light. You can also opt for smart LED lights.

With a few clicks on your phone or tablet, you’ll be able to adjust the illumination in your home from bright white to red.

Sleep deprivation can cause multiple health issues in the long run but regular exposure to red light can prevent that. This type of light improves your circadian rhythm and the secretion of melatonin.

You will fall asleep faster and will feel better rested in the morning.

How we choose the top weighted lap pads for adults

The information you’ll see below are fruit off over 500 work-hours. Putting this guide together took about two months (initially). Since then, we’ve updated it three times (bi-monthly).

In each of these updates, the same products remained among our top choices, and we haven’t seen a single new arrival.

This means two things:

1. The few new arrivals are either subpar or too “young” to be considered
2. The products presented here have our seal of approval

What this guide is and not

This guide does not deal with blankets, we have a separate detailed guide for that – you can see the list of heaviest blankets here.

Without much ado, let us get to our top picks for this update.

Weighted lap blanket

*Our top choice for kids – ReachTherapy Solutions

If you look at things that way, the line between subjective and objective gets blurry as our data sample grows in each subsequent update.

In other words, it’s hard to call a quality aspect “subjective” if it’s based on hundreds of experiences.

If we strictly abide by the definition of objective, quality aspects that qualify are things like craftsmanship, quality of the cover, the versatility, sizing and appearance to the more intricate once like how easy maintenance is.

In the 2024 update, we elevated all that and consulted 3 statistics experts to make the results more accurate.

Bottom line

When all said and done – the Sensory lap pad has been one of the top 3 pads for over a year now. Since the rating gap between it and the current runner-up (which you see below) is very close.

Ultimately, the choice will likely come down to appearance and, more importantly, the weight options and who you’re getting it for.

The ReachTherapy solutions sensory pad comes in over a dozen colorful designs aimed at kids while the Orange Panda has a simpler look, adjusted for adults.

As you saw above, this pad comes in three weights – 3, 5 and 7 lbs, while the Harkla (we’ll talk about it in a minute) is currently only available at 5 pounds.

Weighted lap blanket for adults

*our top choice – Orange Panda

This USA-made product is a solid choice among pads for adults and teenagers alike.

It’s worth stressing that if you are getting a pad for an adult the options are even more scarce and we dare say this Orange Panda would be our top pick by far.

 Harkla Sensory – Weighted Lap Blanket for School

 Impressive satisfaction for school use

Current user satisfaction with the Harkla pad is an impressive 95% which is, based on what we saw over the 8 months, as high as it gets.

It’s also worth noting that Harkla stands behind their product with a lifetime guarantee and 1% of each sale goes to the autism clinic of the Washington University, which adds to the value for schools.

You can see what the user shared in their reviews by following the links below.

Sensory Goods – runner-up lap blanket for school use

The main difference

It’s important to note that the main difference is the filling. In those terms, it’s one of the two products on the list that stands out. Most pads are filled with plastic pellets, while the Sensory Goods opted for glass beads.

In practice, this means that it’s thinner (glass beads have higher bulk density) and the added weight is more seamless. In terms of maintenance, we’d say that pads with a detachable cover and pellet-filling are somewhat easier to maintain in the long run because you can catch the cover and wash it separately.

With that said, the Sensory Goods is also dryer and washer safe. If you are air drying it, it will take a bit longer because of the nature of the glass-bead-filling.

Double Minky by Everything Sensory – for kids and adults

FAQs about weighted lap blankets

What is it?

A weighted lap pad is a product designed to soothe an overactive nervous system in kids and adults affected by sensory disorders, anxiety, restless legs, ADHD, under-responsitivity, etc. Some people even find it to be soothing and have a positive effect on productivity even if you’re not affected by any of the listed conditions.

What’s inside?

The products we talked about above all have two types of filling – poly pellets or glass beads.

If you’re going with DIY, some people opt for alternatives like rice. To be honest, we’re not fans of those options because even if the user doesn’t have an allergic reaction to the rice (which can often be so mild that you don’t even notice it). Secondly, in time, the rice will decay and release dust.

Occasionally, you can find one that’s filled with gel.

Materials used

The common denominator is the inside shell that’s there to keep the filling safely in. It’s typically some type of high-density fabric. In terms of quality of the pad, the stitching is far more important than the choice of the material. It’s hard to imagine a material so poorly made that the filling passes through.

In those terms, the critical part is the stitching. It has to be reliable, secure and run to the very edges.

Weight guidelines

The accepted guidelines indicate that a pad should be approximately 5% of the user’s weight.

How to make one yourself

Making a DIY weighted pad can be pretty straightforward as long as you follow the weight guidelines and have experience in sewing.

It all comes down to planning right so that you end up with evenly distributed weight.

If you’re into DIY, we’re including a step-by-step guide on how to make one yourself.

Phase 1:

1. Choose a size and weight – you can look at the sizes and weights of the products above and choose one that fits your needs / the weight of your child
2. Choose your fabric and filing – for the fabric, cotton is always a good choice. For the filling, the decision comes down to choosing between pellets or beads. The former are more commonly available and used for pads – you can see our guide on choosing and buying plastic pellets or glass beads here.
3. Decide on the size of a single chamber – generally, squared chambers will be easier to sew and adjust to the overall sizing (anything in the range 2×2 to 5×5 inches is a good rule of thumb)
4. You can sew the pad as a one-piece or make individual chambers and then sew them together or onto a sturdier backing fabric. For the purposes of this guide, we’ll go with the one-piece design.
5. Fold your chosen fabric, cut it and sew it along the edges while the fabric is reversed (inside-out).
6. Iron the fabric carefully so that there are no wrinkles at the edges. Pull the face of the fabric out. This step concludes the first phase – you now have an outline of how the bed will look like.

Phase 2:

1. Measure and mark your chambers. Pin the fabric along the markings so that it doesn’t move as you sew. If the dimensions you have in mind don’t add up to a square, mark the fabric width-wise.
2. Stitch along the markings. After this step, you should have fabric “columns” for the filling.
3. Calculate the weight of the film for each chamber. For example, if you’re making a pad that will be 12 x 20 “, each chamber measuring 4 x 4, you’ll have 3 chambers width-wise and 5 length-wise (adding up to 15 total). Let’s say that your chosen weight is 5 lbs (80 oz) – you’ll need approximately 5.33 oz of pellets for each chamber of the pad.
4. For the pellets into the “columns” and the raise the pad to make sure that the filling stays in for the next step (horizontal sewing).
   Sew horizontally along the markings.
5. Repeat steps four and five until you’re done filling and sewing the 15 chambers.
6. As you reach the last row, fold the fabric in and stitch it shut.

At this point, you are basically done.

Phase 3:

If you want to make the pad more luxurious or adjusting to the preference of your child, you might think about making a cover for it.

This might make things more interesting for them and easier for you if you have a particular bundle of joy on your hands.

For example, it will be easier for them to accept using it if they have an additional reason. For a boy, you might make a superhero or comic-themed pad and for a girl you might go with the theme that you know she likes.

There are themed fabrics out there that make this easier.

Make sure that the DIY pad stays in place

This step is all about getting back to the benefits – if it moves inside the cover, it might be to the purpose.

To avoid that, make sure that the pad is fixed. Typically, factory made products use simple ties to keep everything in place. You just sew the ties to the sides of both the pad and the cover.

We would say that to ties on each side will do the trick. Then, you simply fix the pad to by tying it.

Alternatively, you can use buttons or Velcro but, again, ties are the simplest way to go and easiest to sew.

Adding fidgets for tactile exploration

In kids with ADHD, adding fidgets might make it more interesting and further improve on the benefits through tactile exploration.

In other words, it might give them something to play with as the pad does its job of soothing an overactive mind.

Benefits of a weighted lap pad

Reported empirical and anecdotal benefits include:

• Deep pressure can calm a racing mind, especially in social situations that a person or a child affected by sensory disorder can find stressful
• Calming tactile defensiveness and other forms of sensory sensitivity
• Improved sleep
• Help with irrational fears (like crowded spaces or social settings)
• Decrease of negative and increase positive behavioral patterns

Full benefits are yet to be fully explored and proven in large-scale studies.

The data that we provided here is an empirical (based on the experiences of users) and does not constitute medical advice.

Scientific studies pertaining to autism spectrum disorders

As we stressed a few times already, the field is yet to be fully explored in the number of studies is limited, especially when it comes to pads. Most studies focus on other products (you can see our picks for the best weighted blanket for adults here).

Here, we report on the findings of a few well-known studies related to the use of these items in children with sensory disorders.

• In 2001 a study conducted on children with PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorders) in preschool age range reported an increase in task attention and a decrease in self- stimulatory behavior. As reported by the study, “The most consistent improvement observed was the decreased number of distractions”. You can see the full study here
• Myles et al (2004) reported positive effects of on the ability to remain seated in 2 out of 3 students, with the third subject showing slight negative response

Contribute to this guide and apply for our annual giveaway

Updates

It’s our policy to update the ratings on a bi-monthly basis so that the information you see is relevant at all times.

For us, this meant going through the most important quality aspects of a good pad and analyzing the statistical data from seven independent sources. The analysis might be intricate on our side, but for you, it’s pretty simple because we “boiled it down” to a single number – overall quality rating.

Work with us

If you do decide to explore the benefits, we encourage you to share your experience with us.

First-hand contributions are invaluable and being our contributor by just sharing your experience qualifies you for our annual $1000 giveaway in sleep products.

The contribution can come in a range of forms, whether it’s an experience with a specific product or general.

You can share directly on this page (comment section below) or by contacting us via email here. We respond to all correspondence within a day.

Don’t be a stranger,

The Sleep Studies team

Best floor mattress – Top 5

Top-rated floor mattress overall – big and folding

Milliard Tri-Fold

Thickness & comfort

It’s just as thick and comfortable as some classic foam mattresses but specifically designed for sleeping on the floor (non-slip bottom and soft jacquard top).

What you typically see in floor-dedicated mats and pads is 3-4 inch of foam – this Milliard boasts 3.5 inches of high-density in the support layer alone.

That paints a pretty clear picture of what’s better about it.

You can see all the ratings below.

Read More:

Runner-up – Best Price

Enter active charcoal

The first question that likely pops to mind is what makes this mattress different (better suited for floor use) compared to other classics.

The answer lies is that this one is infused with active charcoal to minimize odor, moisture and dust-retention and keep the mattress “fresh”. The company calls the technology ActiveFRESH.

On top of that, if chemicals are a concern, it’s CertiPUR certified, which means that it adheres to strict safety standards of manufacturing and traces of chemicals.

On their own, the factors we described above are not a big deal because it’s not the only mattress to boast them, which brings us back to the price.

It’s what sets it apart – you don’t commonly see a combination of features we mentioned in its price range.

Bottom line

This is one of the most popular mattresses among people who want to place their mattress directly on the floor but are not into sacrificing comfort along the way.

The main upside of getting a mattress like this one is that, should you decide to use it with a platform of any kind, take a break from floor-sleep or give it up all-together, you won’t need an additional investment. It comes in 6 sizes and 4 thickness options (6, 8, 10 or 12-inch).

The popularity is an objective category, since it has over 5,000 experienced shared (just on Amazon) with many of the owners talking about comfortably using it for floor sleeping.

EMOOR floor sleeping mat

(Traditional Japanese)

Bottom line

Putting together a lookalike or feel-alike and naming it “traditional” is one thing, but a floor mat actually crafted and made in Japan is a whole different story.

Obviously, that alone doesn’t a product is worth your buck, the rest of story about it’s quality can be boiled down to how well-liked it is by owners and the user satisfaction with the Emoor paints a similar picture.

Zinus Tri-fold

Who will choose it?

With all that in mind, the choice between the two is clear – this Zinus might be your choice if you want to save, you’re no stranger to sleeping on the floor  & your body is already used to a thinner mattress.

In other scenarios, like a transition to floor sleeping or welcoming guests, you might find it too thin.

SleepReady floor sleeping mat

by Better Habitat

The SleepReady floor mat is in a category of its own and the comparison of floor mattresses don’t really apply.

It’s our top pick among all-foam floor sleeping mats for outdoor use.

Reference info – history, trivia & more tips on choosing the best floor mattress for your needs

In the rest of this guide, we’ll go over some reference information – history, some interesting trivia and specific tips on choosing right (if none of the products we listed above catch your eye).

History of the floor mattress

Digging into the history presents a bit of a challenge, primarily because of the very definition.

Where does one start?

Should we go all the way back to the Paleolithic times or start with the first instances in history where a mattresses we know it today was described.

Instead of dwelling between the two, let’s the both.

First floor sleeping mats go back 25 centuries

It goes without saying that these were primitive and can be only described as “mats” in a historic context.

The first is instances we found of people covering the cave floor go back Paleolithic times. These coverings were made using tree bark to craft a more comfortable sleep surface.

Granted, it wasn’t hard to put together a surface that would be more comfortable than a rock. To be precise, the coverings we’re talking about here were not even weaved – there were just a pile of bark in cave corners that are predecessors used to rest after long days of mastodon hunting.

First records of weaving

It wasn’t long after that people started weaving plants. This made life easier in many ways, but we’d say that the 3 most heavily impacted of Paleolithic life were clothes, gathering and sleep.

Clothes and gathering are pretty self-explanatory – the Neanderthal started crafting rugs for clothing and baskets for gathering.

In terms of sleep, this meant weaving plants into mats. On the timeline of human history, the Paleolithic times qualify as pre-history – so, long story short, a sleeping floor mat goes way back.

To be precise, the first description that would fit that awful floor mat as we know it today goes 6,000 years back to ancient Mesopotamia.

Biblical times

If you say “floor mat” without context today, you’d have to explain yourself further – are we talking about mats for cleaning footwear?

In this context, that would be a ,”no.”

Since the floor was still just dirt, the mats we’re talking about here refer to sleeping pads.

No significant change for 15,000 years

In the time range between 6,000 BC and 9,000 AC, these mats and pads have not evolved significantly.

The 9000 AC mark is a milestone because that’s when the nobility of Japan introduced what we today know as Tatami – a sitting and sleeping pad wall when using rice and rush straw.

Based on historic data, these were aristocrat-only for about eight centuries. One has to skip forward to the 17th century to see these mats were widely available to a “commoner.”

Thrum as a material for floor sleeping pads

Fast-forward about 1000 years and we see historic data a new material for floor mats known as “thrum.” It was made from the discarded parts used in fine clothes-weaving and straw base.

The discarded fiber was not only a smart use for the leftovers but, because it wasn’t so fine, it sturdier and more durable.

These fibers were interwoven into a strong base to craft a mat (rug) that retains shape well (because of the sturdy base) and yet has a soft finish of thrum. It became widely popular in England.

Buying a floor model mattress

The products we recommended above have a wide appeal, meaning that whatever your body type is, one of the mattresses is likely to be a good fit for you.

With that said, if none of these catches your eye, let’s take the time here to go over some paramount factors of choosing well.

While researching all aspects of choosing a good floor mattress, we’ve seen a lot of shallow information. We’ve seen articles talking about floor sleep as “getting back to our roots,” with little regard for the fact that our bodies evolved and adjusted to modern mattresses.

If you make a leap of faith based on information like this, you might end up giving up the “project” of transitioning to floor sleep altogether.

Instead, the choice should be made with due diligence and factor in the specifics of your body type and how experienced (or not) you are.

To make it all clear and precise, we’ll go over some questions that you need to ask yourself before buying.

After each question, we’ll mention a specific product that could be our recommendation in the different scenarios.

Have you ever slept on the floor before?

Most people simply skip this step which is, if you ask us, a huge mistake. For a newbie, the transition should involve a mid-step, like a floor sleeping pad.

If you’ve never slept on the floor, you don’t just dive in and opt for a thin pad. It takes a while for your body to adjust and for you to find the sweet spots and positions, especially if you have back problems.

This is one of the reasons that we included mattress models that are, strictly speaking, neither here nor there.

What we mean by this?

When we say “neither here nor there,” we’re referring to the type that’s not floor-dedicated.

In this class, our top pick is the overall runner-up. It’s a mattress that can be used on the floor, raised platforms or classic beds.

To sum it up, if you’re just making the transition or you want to be as comfortable as possible, we’d go with the second product in the list – the Best Price.

We did mention it being budget friendly as one of its main upsides but, just so that we’re clear, this is the actual name of the product and not our commentary.

Comfort-wise, the thinnest version is on-par with the top-rated Milliard foldable floor mattress and performs just as well in most aspects and even better in others.

One caveat would be that it’s not portable, since it’s primarily intended for home use.

How often do you plan to use it?

Another important question to ask yourself is the intended use.

Are you getting a floor mattress for guests / occasional use or daily use?

This is also where portability/storage comes into play.

Scenario one: You’re looking for it to be your main bed and have no plans to store it away on daily basis.

For long-term use, our recommendation model would (again) be the second one on the list.

Scenario two: For guests and occasional use

The choice in this scenario is pretty clear since the Milliard roll up floor mattress is the product that ticks all the boxes.

It’s portable, relatively cheap, comes in three sizes (Twin, Full & Queen). The cover is soft, retains shape & resistant to mold.

Scenario three: floor sleeping mat for outdoor use

For outdoor use, our recommendation is the SleepReady mat/pad by Better Habitat.

Side note: we already mentioned that we excluded inflatables from this guide on purpose, since we already have an existing guide in that arena (both classic and self inflatable).

If an air mattress is an option for you, you can see our picks by following one of the three links below.

Do you have back problems?

Another question that we rarely see addressed and research papers and articles.

Making general statements about a floor sleeping mat or pad being good or bad for people with back problems is misleading at best and downright wrong at worst.

That’s why we had to dig deeper and look into available large-scale studies on the topic. Some of our findings were surprising.

If you talk to people about back pain, the conversation is likely to touch on the matter of sleeping on a hard surface.

The evidence for this are mostly anectodal

If the pain is acute, you probably want to stay away from thin pads and mats. In most cases, the pain comes from nerve pressure. If this is the case, you won’t be doing your back and favors by sleeping on surfaces that don’t allow your shoulders and hips to sink in enough so that your spine is aligned.

There’s no widely accepted consensus among professionals when it comes to chronic back pain and the firmness of your mattress. Most of the data we found in our research suggests that a mattress of medium firmness offers more relief in the long run.

To quote a study we found to be most specific (published in the Lancet magazine, 2003 issue, PMID: 14630439):

“A mattress of medium firmness improves pain and disability among patients with chronic non-specific low-back pain”

You can see the full study here

What it means applied to foam models

Our top 2 picks qualify as “medium” firmness. There are models of similar foam density and structure, but it’s the thickness that makes a difference here.

Anything under 6 inches cannot be taken at face value because the floor surface underneath becomes a significant factor.

Summary and updates

To keep the ratings relevant, we do your best to stick to bimonthly or quarterly updates. Those include both new data and new arrivals to the market.

You can always use the comment section below for any questions, either about specific products or general. We aim to respond to all correspondence within 24 hours.

Become our contributor

If you have the time to share your experience, feel free to contact us and contribute with personal impressions.

This would qualify you for our annual giveaway sleep products ($1000). To do that, you can drop us a line right now or bookmark this page and do it at your convenience.

The Sleep Studies review team

We’ll address the issue of whether moist or wet hair gets damaged during the eight hours of sleep, and then we’ll move on to the health implications.

We’d love to be more straightforward, but we need to dig a bit deeper.

Is it bad to sleep with wet hair?

Yes, the simplified answer would be that there are reasons why it’s considered a no-no.

For two reasons – the damage to your hair maternal arises from the friction of interlocking follicles and the health-related concerns (colds, headaches and, in the worst scenarios, rare cases of brain inflammation and damage to the facialis nerve).

Opinions do vary and you might even find people saying that it poses no risk, a data-driven answer suggests otherwise. Let’s take a closer look.

Hair damage concerns

How to sleep with wet hair

Not exposing your hair to the high temperatures of a hair dryer and letting it dry naturally is one of the simplest, yet super-beneficial ways you can keep your hair healthy. This way your scalp doesn’t get dry and it keeps in all those nourishing oils that are feeding the follicles of hair.

This is easy to do on the hot summer days, but there are all other nights when you need to wash you hair and go to sleep quickly, leaving you with nothing else but letting it dry while you sleep.

If you really don’t have time to blow dry it and choose to go to bed with wet hair, please don’t ever do it with your hair being soaking wet. Below are some pointers on how to sleep with wet hair and minimize the potential damage and risks.

Get rid of some of the moisture

Consider putting clean towel over your pillow, so it can absorb the moisture from your hair. The wet pillows are perfect place for bacterial growth, which can cause acne (and a nasty smell).

Silk and satin pillowcases are also good alternative, since those fabrics cause less friction, regardless of your hair being wet or dry. Wrapping your hair in a silk scarf will also do the trick – you can see our guide on best silk pillowcases here.

Let your hair down or tide it?

Braiding your hair slightly or putting it into a bun, may give you a nice, wavy look in the morning. You can even wrap your strands around pieces of cloth to take it to the next level of curly. However, if you do this on hair that hasn’t been dries at all, the chances of damaging it will get high. If you really want to do something with it, choose a loose braid, and avoid any tight alternatives or high ponytail. Scrunchies will work better than elastic bands, so go with them.

Styling it after waking up

In most cases, you will have to re-do your hairstyle in the morning, because often it needs some tiding up and blow drying. If you like what you see when you get up, go on with your day. If not, you can shake it out to get volume, and add some styling product or diffuse it. You may even have to re-wet some part of your hair to get the look you want. This can actually take more time than if you just wash it a bit earlier in the evening so you have the time to dry it out.

Health-related concerns

Sleeping with wet hair and headaches

When sleeping in a cold climate, the blood vessels in your body and head, especially the ones in your nose and throat, will constrict. When that happens there is a less space for white blood cells (which are responsible for fighting the viruses), to come through and do their job. Having your head wet for number of hours in a cold environment, sure doesn’t help.

We don’t catch a cold, we catch a virus, but by getting our body in this state our immune system can become weaker, making our body an easy target. That can be a reason for an onset of headaches.

The indirect connection to temporary immunity drop

Our body temperature drops during the night, and because we are sleeping, we can’t control it by getting ourselves warmed. Since we loose our heat mostly through our head, it will cause some dehydration.

Any extreme change in temperature can be dangerous to our body and cause problems more serious than a fleeting headache.

If you choose to do it anyway, let it be damp instead of soaking wet, and keep your room warm and your pillow protected. Bottom line – the connection to headaches or immunity is not clear-cut. You can see some more opinions on that here.

Share your thoughts

We did our best to address some of the most common concerns, but the more opinions and experiences the merrier.

What are your thoughts and experiences? Is it OK to sleep with wet hair?

Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts below.

Sleep tight and dry

Feelings aside, it can be a real problem. In immediate terms, it can interfere with your sleep cycles because, even if you don’t know about it, when you bite your tongue your brain receives a pain signal.

The effects on sleep quality can range from mild to long-term deprivation of deep sleep, which is an essential sleep phase. On the other hand, it can indicate an underlying cause.

Tongue-biting in sleep happens to more people than you might think

There are no precise stats, but the number of people suffering from common causes like teeth grinding or sleep apnea can be a good indicator.

Over 30% of people grind their teeth excessively during sleep and over 20 million suffer from sleep apnea, in the USA alone.

But, if you found your way here, chances are that you’re not like most of them. You are probably biting your tongue beyond the point where you damage it and it feels sore in the mornings. That’s the part of population we’ll be focusing on.

It’s fair to say that if you belong to the later group (people who commonly bite their tongue when they’re awake) chances are that the same reasons are causing it when you’re sleeping.

However, sometimes this little night accidents may do a serious damage, and in some cases be a sign of distinct health conditions.

Potential causes of biting tongue in sleep

If it happens once every few months, chances are it’s accidents and can be attributed to you being a restless sleeper or “living up” your dreams more vividly. We toss and turn while sleeping; our arms and legs sometimes end up in uncomfortable positions, so the same thing can happen to the inside of our mouth. We sometimes grind our teeth, or bite our tongue.

Disorders and health conditions that may be causing it

• Stress can cause all sorts of sleeping disturbances, among them teeth grinding, which can occur and lead to tongue biting. Stress can be caused by hormones, tight schedule at your work place or school, or any other problem bothering you. We often exclude it right away, but it can really be the number one cause. Whatever is the reason behind it, try to relax, and if you can’t do it by yourself, talk to your doctor about treatment that can help you. Once you sort out the cause of the stress and get it under control, you will stop biting your tongue during sleep.
• Teeth grinding is a common disorder that is closely tied to the problem. Since it imitates chewing, you get how possible it is to hurt your tongue during these jaw movements while having no control in your sleep. In difference to occasionally grinding your teeth, if you have a disorder, it will need to be treated more serious. Teeth grinding or bruxism is usually a symptom of anxiety and stress, which can be treated with therapy and drugs. you can read more about it on WebMD here.
• Nocturnal or night seizure is basically a state when person makes uncontrollable jerking movements of limbs without conscious consent, while sleeping. All seizures are caused involuntarily, and can include stiffening of the muscles and losing control of bladder or bowels. Some seizures might manifest in calmer ways, without any movements, therefore be harder to notice. The traces of tongue biting might be noticed on the side of the tongue. A person may not have seizures during the day, so diagnose can only be done by doctors through the observation of brainwaves. To treat this condition, medication is prescribed. When taken, medication will stop the seizures and tongue biting.
• Rhythmic movement disorder – in this case, all the movements are usually restricted to the head and neck area. It includes sudden repeated shakes and banging of the head, while unconscious, and as a result can have severe injuries, including ones caused by strong bites. This can happen before or in the middle of sleep, and one seizure can last few minutes. It affects children the most, and although there is medical treatment, they usually stop completely as child gets older. You can read more about it here.
• Sleep apnea is, as you’re probably aware, a condition that causes problems with breathing during sleep, including shallow breaths and long pauses between each breath. With that happening, a tongue tends to relax, so it can slip between the teeth, which can lead to injuries. Each episode of sleep apnea (and there can be many of them during the night) can bring new tongue injury, leaving you with bloody traces in the morning. There are effective treatments for this condition.
• Lyme disease affects the nervous system and the brain itself, and with those two inflicted and not working properly, muscles receive wrong signals and they start to move involuntarily and unpredictably.

Other causes

• If you have dentures and the fitting is not right, this can also be a cause behind the problem. If that’s the case, you will need to visit your dentist to make proper adjustments.
• Taking psychoactive substances, often leads to people grinding their teeth, biting their tongues and inner cheeks. With their increased energy and changed state of perception, they can do this even for pleasure, since the receptors for pain are influenced by drug and are not working properly. This can cause to serious injuries.
• Some antidepressants and other medication can cause night seizures and movements that may cause a problem. When the medication is changed, this usually stops.

Damages you may suffer from biting tongue in sleep

In most cases, the damage comes down to pain. However, complications are a real danger because the injury is in our mouth, which is full of bacteria.

If you think the situation is serious, you should immediately visit a doctor.

If it happens often, or you did it once, but with a lot of strength, you will probably notice some nasty results from it. Soreness and bleeding are most common, but there is also possibility of developing ulcers, that can take days to heal.

Morsication lingarum is a condition that affects borders of the tongue, when it’s being physically injured by chronic biting. In this case the sides of tongue are irritated and painful, and it needs to be treated.

“Biting my tongue in my sleep”

How to talk to your physician

As we said, it can be nothing but like with all problems that might seem trivial but persevere, you’ll want to talk to your doctor. In these situations people tend to try and “steer” the opinion of the doctor by either diminishing or exaggerating the problem.

The best practice here is to visit a doctor right after an episode so that they can see the damage and be very precise about how often it happens.

This can as simple as taking pictures after each episode. This will give them useful insight into how often it happens and the extent of the damage it causes – it’s the frequency and the severity that tell the full story.

How to fix the damage?

There are ways to treat the injury or relieve the pain before going to the doctor’s.

Applying ice cubs or anything cold on your tongue will help with soreness and numb the pain. You would also want to rinse your mouth with salty water to clean the wound and protect from infection. Repeat the process few times or until you feel better.

Rest of the day avoid eating spicy and hot food, and restrain yourself from meals that require much chewing.

Can you prevent tongue biting?

We said that it can be caused by some disorders and illnesses, in which case the conclusion is that the cure for the tongue biting is the treatment for the initial cause/health issue.

Whatever is the reason behind the issue, you’re probably wonder if there’s something that can actually protect your tongue from being damaged?

The answer is yes

There are several types of mouth guards or night guards. Boil and bite guards, that you need to boil in water before using to soften the plastic they’re made from, and partially custom fit them to your mouth. They can be found in some stores.

Back to you

We hope that reading this guide helped you find useful advice and clarity on the matter.

If you are biting your tongue in sleep, or have any experience related to this issue, please do share with us and comment in the section below.

Sleep tight and don’t bite,

The Sleep Studies team