Practical explainer
Best Ambient Sounds for a Noisy City Apartment
A quiet bedroom is not always available when you rent. Traffic, hallway conversations and a neighbor's television may be beyond your control. Whether your apartment is in New York, London, Toronto or Sydney, the useful question is the same: can a gentle background sound make the interruptions less noticeable without adding another disturbance?
Sometimes it can. There is no proven best ambient sound for everyone, however, and louder is not better. Start with a sound you find unobtrusive, keep it low and judge it by whether you sleep and function better. Silence remains a reasonable choice when added sound is irritating.
What sound masking can and cannot do
A sudden voice or passing motorcycle stands out against a quiet room. A steady background sound can reduce that contrast, making some interruptions less noticeable. This is sound masking. It adds sound rather than removing the original noise or physically soundproofing your apartment.
That distinction matters. A soft fan-like sound may make faint hallway voices less distracting, but it may do little for heavy footsteps, vibrating bass or a slamming door. Trying to overpower those sounds can leave you with two noise problems. Environmental noise is a recognized cause of sleep disturbance; WHO guidance emphasizes reducing harmful exposure rather than simply adding more sound. [1]
What the research actually supports
A 2021 systematic review of 38 studies found very low-quality evidence that continuous white or similar broadband noise improves sleep. Findings varied from benefit to disruption. A separate 2022 review also found insufficient strong evidence for auditory stimulation as a general sleep intervention. [2, 3]
More recent evidence is encouraging but still qualified. A 2025 meta-analysis of 12 randomized trials reported better questionnaire-rated sleep quality in adult and older-adult patient groups using white noise. The studies varied substantially, included different clinical settings, and had methodological limitations. Those results do not establish which recording works best for a healthy renter or prove that everyone should use sound overnight. [4]
A small 2026 laboratory study of 25 adults adds a caution: continuous pink noise reduced REM sleep, and earplugs better protected sleep from environmental noise. This does not prove every recording is harmful, but it challenges the assumption that added noise is harmless or always beneficial. [6]
The practical conclusion is modest: a low-volume trial may be worthwhile if noise bothers you, but comfort and benefit should be assessed individually. Claims that a particular noise color guarantees deep sleep go beyond this evidence.
Choose a sound you can stop noticing
Use these descriptions as a listening guide, not a ranking of proven treatments. MySleepCure's Sleeps Sanctuary includes the following options:
Steady Fan: A consistent mechanical texture may suit someone who dislikes changing rhythms or detailed nature scenes. Try it if your attention keeps catching on voices. Stop if the hum itself becomes annoying.
Steady Rain: Rain can provide a fuller background texture. Listen first for sharp drops, dramatic changes or other details that might keep drawing your attention. A recording you enjoy during the day may feel different in a quiet bedroom.
Gentle Stream: Flowing water offers a less mechanical alternative. Its changing texture may be pleasant, but some listeners find individual splashes distracting. Choose according to your response rather than the idea that natural sounds must be better.
Beach Waves: Waves rise and fall. That rhythm may feel calming during wind-down, while the quieter gaps may leave outside sounds more noticeable. If you keep waiting for the next wave, a steadier option may suit you better.
Preview a short section while awake. Check for advertisements, spoken introductions, abrupt endings and noticeable loop seams before relying on any recording. Your phone, browser and connection can affect playback, so test the setup you will actually use.
White pink and brown noise
These names describe how sound energy is distributed across frequencies. White noise often sounds like a bright hiss. Pink noise has relatively less high-frequency energy and may sound softer or deeper. Brown noise emphasizes lower frequencies more strongly and can sound like a rumble. [7]
A deeper sound is not automatically more effective or safer. A bass-heavy recording can also travel to neighboring rooms. Rain and fan recordings are not necessarily technically pure examples of any noise color, even if an app labels them that way. Choose the actual sound, not a promise attached to its label.
Keep the volume low and the room safe
Use the lowest comfortable level that helps, rather than trying to erase every outside sound. Hearing risk depends on volume and exposure duration, and lowering volume and moving away from loud sources are established protective steps. A hearing-safety limit is not a recommended bedtime volume. [5]
For this trial, use a room speaker rather than planning to sleep in headphones. Keep devices off bedding, follow their charging instructions and check that essential alarms and caregiving sounds remain audible. A volume that hides a smoke alarm, a child calling or another important warning is not an acceptable trade-off. If you share the room, agree on a sound and level together.
If sound is useful only while settling down, try a timer. If interruptions continue later, compare how you feel with and without longer playback; more hours are not automatically better. Stop if you develop ear discomfort, ringing or worse sleep.
Make the free adjustments first
Before adding audio, identify where the disturbance comes from. If practical, move the bed farther from a shared wall or street-facing window. Close a window when doing so remains comfortable and safe, without compromising needed ventilation. Move rattling objects and silence nonessential phone alerts while preserving emergency contacts.
Existing curtains, rugs and soft furnishings may reduce reverberation inside a room, but they will not reliably block outside traffic or structural vibration. Do not cover vents or interfere with doors, alarms or escape routes. If a building fixture rattles or a door repeatedly slams, a specific maintenance request may be more useful than a louder playlist.
Try one change and judge the result
Choose one recording, one low volume and a simple setup. Over several nights, notice whether you settle more easily, awaken less often or feel better during the day. A brief morning note is enough; you do not need to monitor your sleep all night. Remember that outside noise changes, so one good night cannot prove the sound caused it.
Keep what helps and stop what does not. Pair any sound trial with the basics in our Everyday Sleep Guide rather than treating audio as the whole solution. If sleep problems persist even when noise is reduced, consider discussing them with a healthcare professional. Our CBT-I article explains a more established approach for persistent insomnia. [8]
Explore on MySleepCure
Sleeps Sanctuary: https://www.mysleepcure.com/sleep-sanctuary
Everyday Sleep Guide: https://www.mysleepcure.com/everyday-sleep-guide
Sleep Music and What the Evidence Shows: https://www.mysleepcure.com/sleep-music-evidence
CBT-I in Depth: https://www.mysleepcure.com/cbt-i-in-depth
Sources
[1] WHO. Guidance on environmental noise. https://www.who.int/tools/compendium-on-health-and-environment/environmental-noise/
[2] Riedy SM et al. Noise as a sleep aid: A systematic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2021;55:101385. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33007706/
[3] Capezuti E et al. Systematic review: auditory stimulation and sleep. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2022;18:1697-1709. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34964434/
[4] Ding Y et al. Impact of white noise on sleep quality across age groups and in critically ill/non-critically ill patients. Sleep Medicine. 2025;136:106869. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41151421/
[5] NIDCD. Noise-induced hearing loss is preventable. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/2021/noise-induced-hearing-loss-preventable
[6] Basner M et al. Efficacy of pink noise and earplugs for mitigating the effects of intermittent environmental noise exposure on sleep. Sleep. 2026;49:zsag001. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41627391/
[7] Northwestern Medicine. What Noise Color Is Best for Sleep. https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/what-noise-color-is-best-for-sleep
[8] NHLBI. Insomnia treatment. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/insomnia/treatment