Is white noise good for studying? What studies show about focus and memory

Is white noise good for studying?

White noise is good for studying for some people and some tasks, but not for everyone. Most people asking whether white noise is good for studying want two things: to block out a noisy room, and to remember more of what they read. The research supports the first and is mixed on the second.

White noise is a steady hiss that contains every pitch at the same strength, like a fan or TV static. That makes it good at masking: it covers sudden sounds such as a door, a conversation or a coffee machine, so they stand out less. A sudden sound is what pulls your attention away, and white noise softens that edge.

Does white noise help you focus or memorise?

White noise helped people memorise in one study and hurt their memory in others, so it depends on what you are doing. Here is what the main studies found:

Study	Who	What happened with white noise
2017, word learning	80 healthy young adults	Recalled more new words over time than in silence
2015, five experiments	167 healthy adults	Less accurate working memory; no general benefit

In the 2017 study, people learned the names of 20 unfamiliar objects across 5 rounds, with a recall test after each. Half learned with white noise and half in silence. The noise group remembered more as the session went on. When they only had to recognise the names, both groups scored near the top.

The 2015 study looked closer. When white noise played while people held information in mind for a few seconds, which is called working memory, they got less accurate. In another task it made people faster at judging pictures, but they did not remember those pictures any better later. The authors concluded that white noise has no general effect on thinking. It helps or hurts depending on the task and on when the noise plays.

Who benefits most from white noise when studying?

People with attention problems seem to benefit most, and people without them may do slightly worse. A 2007 study found that children with ADHD remembered more with white noise in the background, while children without ADHD remembered less.

A larger 2024 meta-analysis, which pooled 13 studies with 335 young people with ADHD or high ADHD symptoms, found a small benefit from white and pink noise on attention and schoolwork tasks. In comparison groups without ADHD, the same noise had a small negative effect. Our article on brown noise for ADHD covers this research in detail. If you think you may have ADHD, a doctor can help you find out; noise is a study aid, not a treatment.

For everyone else, the most reliable benefit is simpler: in a loud flat, library or café, steady noise can be less distracting than the room around you.

White, pink or brown noise: which is best for studying?

No study has compared noise colours for studying, so the best one is the one you can ignore for an hour. The learning studies above used white noise, and the 2024 meta-analysis covered white and pink.

• White noise: equal energy at every pitch, a bright hiss. Masks voices well, but some people find it tiring.
• Pink noise: loses 3 dB per octave, so it sounds like steady rain. A softer middle ground.
• Brown noise: loses 6 dB per octave, a deep rumble. Popular for long sessions because it has little hiss.

For the full comparison of how they sound and why, see brown noise vs white noise.

Is white noise better than music for studying?

For reading and memorising, white noise or music without words is usually easier to tune out than songs with lyrics. Lyrics put words in your ears while you are reading words on the page, and many people notice the two compete.

That doesn’t make music bad for studying. Music you like can make it easier to start and to keep going, which counts for a lot. A practical rule: use noise or instrumental sound for reading, writing and memorising, and save favourite songs for repetitive work like tidying notes or making flashcards. Some people also try beta binaural beats for focus, which have their own small body of research.

How loud should white noise be when studying?

White noise for studying should be quieter than normal conversation, which is about 60 dB. A good test: you should be able to talk over it without raising your voice. Louder noise masks more, but it also tires you and, over many hours with headphones, can harm your hearing.

A simple way to try it:

1. Pick one colour and keep the volume low.
2. Study in blocks of 25 to 50 minutes, then take a short break in silence.
3. After a week, compare what you got done with and without noise.

In Shimmr, white, pink and brown noise are in the library and work offline with the screen off. You can also layer noise under a focus session in the mixer, for example under the Scattered → Focused Shift, which rises from Theta to Beta over 10 to 30 minutes.