What is the brown noise TikTok trend?
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TikTok is home to many weird and wonderful trends, but brown noise is one of the more wholesome, despite the name giving many the ick.
Recent TikTok highlights include the dubiously named slugging, washing your car to an Ellie Goulding song, and more bizarrely, taping your mouth shut at night.
Brown noise is the latest to take over TikTok, so what does it involve exactly?
Chances are you’ve heard of white noise. It’s commonly used for aiding sleep, and you can buy machines to create the sound. Then there’s the less common sibling, pink noise, which is similar to white noise but is supposedly less harsh on the ears as the lower tones are boosted.
It’s similar to light wind or rain, and isn’t overly distracting.
Then we have brown noise, confusingly also known as red noise (pick a colour!).
Sleep experts say it contains all frequencies and sounds from every octave of the sound spectrum, and it can help you to drift off.
Everyone could do with a few more z's, and this could be just the ticket if you're sick of counting sheep.
It’s lower in tone than white and pink noise – think the rumble of thunder, waterfalls or heavy rain.
So why are people loving it?
Fans of brown noise say it can help with concentration for people with ADHD, and can help with relaxation and sleep.
Some users with ADHD have posted saying they feel like they have "cracked the code" of their condition, through the use of sound.
The hashtag has had a huge boost in popularity, particularly with those who also post content about ADHD and coping mechanisms they use in day-to-day life.
Many videos are sweet reactions of people listening to it for the first time and realising the impact it has on them and their ability to focus.
Some medical websites say brown noise “might help lower symptoms if you have ringing in your ears, and it’s also shown to improve thinking skills.”
Many mindfulness apps use noise to help listeners drift off to sleep, using a variety of white, brown and pink noise, so while it isnt exactly new, brown noise is definitely having a moment.
As it stands, little research has been done on brown noise in comparison to white noise, and TikTok fans are hoping more scientists will get on board to find out exactly what it can do.
