The science · 15 papers

Every track points back
to a paper you can read.

We are not asking you to trust us. We are asking you to read the studies. Below is the full reference base — DOIs included — that informs the catalog. Where the evidence has caveats (small samples, replication issues, responder asymmetry), we say so.

Sleep & Rest

3 papers

Focus & Work

8 papers
2010 · Behavioral and Brain Functions · stochastic resonance

The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children

Söderlund GBW et al.

Background white noise improved memory in inattentive children, consistent with the stochastic resonance hypothesis.

DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-6-55
2012 · Journal of Consumer Research · stochastic resonance

Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition

Mehta R, Zhu R, Cheema A

Moderate ambient noise (~70 dB) enhanced creative cognition vs low or high noise, via processing disfluency promoting abstract thinking.

Lab tasks; the 70 dB sweet spot is population average, not individual prescription.
DOI: 10.1086/665048
2024 · JAACAP · stochastic resonance

Do White Noise or Pink Noise Help With Task Performance in Youth With ADHD?

Nigg JT et al.

Meta-analysis of 13 RCTs: small but significant benefit of white/pink noise on attention in ADHD youth. Same noise impaired non-ADHD performance.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.12.014
2022 · Scientific Reports · stochastic resonance

Cognitive performance, creativity and stress levels of neurotypical young adults under different white noise levels

Awada M et al.

White noise at 45 dB outperformed 55/65/75 dB for sustained attention, accuracy, and stress markers in neurotypical adults.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18862-w
2023 · Frontiers in Psychology · stochastic resonance

Effects of auditory white noise stimulation on sustained attention and response time variability

Egeland J et al.

White noise reduced reaction time variability in children with elevated ADHD symptoms — moderate brain arousal model.

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1301771
2021 · European Journal of Neuroscience · stochastic resonance

Background white noise and speech facilitate visual working memory

Han S, Zhu R, Ku Y

Background noise and speech significantly improved visual working memory in neurotypical adults vs silence. Arousal-mediated.

DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15455
2017 · Scientific Reports · stochastic resonance

White noise enhances new-word learning in healthy adults

Angwin AJ et al.

White noise improved novel word-meaning recall in adults vs silence. Effect did not depend on baseline attentional ability.

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13383-3
2019 · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · nature sounds

Of cricket chirps and car horns: The effect of nature sounds on cognitive performance

Van Hedger SC et al.

Natural soundscapes improved directed-attention performance vs urban soundscapes — Attention Restoration Theory.

DOI: 10.3758/s13423-018-1539-1

Calm & Regulation

4 papers
Evidence watch

When the evidence moves, we say so.

Citing a paper is not the same as pretending the science is settled. When new, rigorous research complicates a claim we rely on, we publish it here — even when it cuts against us.

2026 · Sleep (University of Pennsylvania) · pink noise · caveat

Pink noise can reduce REM sleep when used to mask environmental noise

A 2026 sleep-lab study found that adding pink noise to mask traffic and aircraft noise reduced restorative REM sleep and interfered with sleep recovery — earplugs protected sleep better. This does not erase the slow-wave benefits seen in Papalambros 2017 (a different setup: gentle pulses, not continuous masking), but it is a real limit on the "pink noise is always good for sleep" story the niche likes to tell. We surface it, we link it, and we calibrate our overnight tracks accordingly.

Read the study →
Editorial standard

What we refuse to cite.

Solfeggio frequencies. 432 Hz "natural tuning." Mozart-effect intelligence claims. Binaural beats with strong claims. We have documented why each of these is rejected in our reference base — and we keep that list public, in the open repo.