I don’t like white noise. The whirring, static, mind-numbing noise that some people love and fall asleep to really grates on my brain. For a while Izri really liked sleeping with white noise. I found a white noise app I could play for him. And it was a testament to how much I love him that I let him listen to it at night since he sleeps right next to my side of the bed. It was a blessed night when we realized he didn’t need it anymore and I could sleep in peace and quiet again (well, as much peace as you can sleep in when you’re getting up a couple times a night to nurse a baby, but definitely quiet).
We have a dehydrator that we love making dried apples with, but the sound of the fan going for 7 hours straight drives me absolutely bonkers. So I set it up in the kitchen and then take it in the garage to do its thing. This summer I was doing apples for us to take on our road trips and Shimei followed me out to the garage where I turned it on and wanted to know why it was in the garage. I told him Momma doesn’t like white noise. He considered this for a moment and then surmised, “White noise, no. Green noise.”
Green noise wasn’t a term I was familiar with but I think he’s struck on something. I definitely don’t like white noise. But the noises I do like could definitely be considered green noise. I like the sound of song birds in our trees. I like the sound of thunder rolling past. I like silence. We’ve recently come into possession of a very large wind chime (not a little tinkly one) and I love the deeper sounds it makes as the breeze passes through. I like organic sounds.
So white noises, static noises, whirring noises, no. Green noises, organic noises, natural noises, yes.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
Tummies rumbling — now there’s a good organic noise for you. :brett:
I don’t mind white noise, though I don’t seek it out. I definitely prefer green noises. What a great term!
I can’t sleep without white noise, but I do temper it with pink and brown noise so it’s not quite so stark. When I’m trying to sleep, I tend to listen for things. I’m always listening, straining to tell if that noise is the house, a cat, something outside, someone who is up sick, my bed, the water heater, the furnace, etc. My mind is so focused on figuring out what the sound is, where it’s coming from, and if it’s something I need to worry about that it never actually quiets down enough to sleep. White/pink/brown noise shuts my brain up very effectively, and I can calm down and go to sleep. But, in waking life, I’d much rather hear green noise than the hum of electronics and fluorescent lights!