Green Noise Generator

Green noise keeps the middle of the sound spectrum and softens the deep lows and bright highs. It sounds like a distant waterfall or a breeze through a forest. Press play to hear it.

Green noiseFree · no sign-up · plays for hours without a gap
All 22 sounds: noise colors, nature, places and machines

Noise colors

Nature

Places

Machines

What green noise is (and isn’t)

Unlike white, pink and brown noise, green noise has no standard scientific definition (see colors of noise1). It’s a name that caught on for noise centred on the middle frequencies, around 500 Hz, with less of the deep rumble and less of the high hiss. Some describe it as “the background noise of the world”, because so many natural sounds, from distant water to wind in leaves, sit in that middle band.

MoodNoise makes it by shaping pink noise with a gentle band filter around 500 Hz. The result is calm and rounded: softer than white noise, less heavy than brown.

Who it suits

  • People who find brown noise too boomy and white noise too sharp.
  • Nature lovers: green noise blends so well with rain, a river or rustling leaves that it fills in the gaps between their sounds.
  • Relaxation and reading: its narrower, softer sound is easy to forget about. See sounds for relaxation.

Mixes to try

Green noise compared

If you want the science-backed definitions, start with pink noise (equal energy per octave) and brown noise (deeper still). Green noise is best thought of as a softer, filtered pink. Because the name isn’t standard, different apps make it differently; if one sounds better to you, that’s the one to use.

Keep it quiet. Background sound works at a low level: about as loud as a soft shower or a quiet conversation across the room. If you have to raise your voice over it, turn it down. For comparison, the workplace limit NIOSH recommends is 85 decibels averaged over 8 hours 2; background sound should be far below that. For sleep, lower is better, and keep phones and speakers away from your pillow.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia. Colors of noise. en.wikipedia.org.
  2. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC) (2024). Noise-induced hearing loss. cdc.gov.

Questions

Is green noise real?

It isn’t a scientific category like white, pink or brown noise. It’s a popular name for noise focused on the middle frequencies, around 500 Hz. The sound is real; the definition just varies between apps.

Is green noise good for sleep?

Some people find it the most relaxing noise for sleep because it has neither deep rumble nor bright hiss. Try it at a low volume with the sleep timer.

What’s the difference between green and pink noise?

Pink noise covers the whole range evenly by octave. Green noise is pink noise with the lows and highs turned down, so it’s narrower and gentler.

Last updated .