Getting started

White noise and sleep training

White noise is fine to use during the Ferber method. Keep it quiet, keep it well away from the crib, and use it the same way every night.

The Ferber team October 1, 2026 7 min read

You are getting the nursery ready for Night 1. The crib is clear, the blackout blind is up, and there is a white noise machine on the shelf that a friend swore by. Now you are wondering whether it helps the Ferber method, gets in the way, or does not matter at all.

Here is the short answer. White noise is fine to use with the Ferber method and with sleep training in general. It does not replace the method. If you use it, keep the volume low, place the machine well away from the crib, never inside it, and use it the same way every night. A 2014 study found that infant sleep machines can get loud enough to be a concern for hearing at close range and high volume, so placement and volume matter more than which sound you pick.

What white noise can and cannot do

White noise is a steady, even sound, like a fan, rain or a soft hiss. Parents usually use it for one of two reasons: to cover sudden noises that might wake a baby (a door, a dog, an older sibling, traffic), or to give the room the same sound every night as part of going to sleep.

Both are reasonable during sleep training. A baby who is learning to fall asleep on their own has enough going on without the dishwasher clunking or a sibling’s bath time down the hall.

What white noise cannot do is teach your baby to fall asleep without you. That is the job of the method itself: putting your baby down awake, leaving, and coming back for short check-ins at set intervals. Our page on the Ferber method explains how that works. White noise is a background condition, like a dark room. It can make the room easier to sleep in. It will not stop the crying on Night 1 or 2, and you should not expect it to.

White noise and sleep training: how to fit them together

The most useful rule is to keep the sleep space the same all week. If white noise is on at bedtime, it should still be on when your baby wakes at 2 a.m. A sound that is there when they fall asleep and gone when they surface in the night is a change they may notice. This is the same idea behind a sleep association: babies tend to want the conditions they fell asleep in to still be there when they wake.

In practice:

Decide before Night 1. Either use white noise every night of the program, or not at all. Switching it on halfway through a hard night adds a new variable when you least need one.
Run it all night. Turn it on as part of the bedtime routine and leave it on until morning. If your machine has a timer that shuts off after an hour, turn the timer off.
Use it for naps too, if you use it at night. The same sleep space for every sleep keeps things simple.
Keep it boring. A steady sound is better than music, lullabies or anything with a changing melody.

The Sleep Foundation’s advice on the Ferber method is that consistency is what makes it work. That applies to the room as much as to the check-ins. The Ferber method chart gives you the intervals. The sound in the room should be the one thing that does not change.

How loud is too loud

This is where white noise needs some care.

A study published in Pediatrics in 2014 measured the sound output of 14 infant sleep machines, with all their sounds, at maximum volume and at distances of 30, 100 and 200 centimeters, adjusting for the ear canal of a 6-month-old baby. At 30 centimeters, every machine exceeded the 50 decibel limit recommended for hospital nurseries. Three machines went above 85 decibels. The authors note that at that level, 8 hours or more a day would exceed the workplace noise limits set for adults, and they concluded that these machines can produce sound levels that may be damaging to an infant’s hearing.

It helps to be clear about what the study did and did not find. It tested machines at their maximum volume. It did not follow babies over time or measure hearing loss in any child. What it shows is that these machines are capable of being too loud, especially close to the crib and turned up high. That is a reason to keep the volume low and the machine far away. If you have been using one closer or louder, simply adjust it from tonight.

Where to put the machine and how to set it

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discussing the study, sums up the advice simply: place sleep machines more than 200 centimeters from the crib, which is about 6.5 feet, and keep the volume low. The study also found that even at 200 centimeters, all but one machine still exceeded the nursery limit when set to maximum, so distance alone is not enough. Volume matters too.

A practical setup:

Across the room. Put the machine on a shelf or dresser on the far side of the room, about 6.5 feet or more from the crib.
Low volume. Start at the lowest setting and turn it up only until it covers the noise you are worried about. It should never need to be at maximum.
Never in or on the crib. Not clipped to the rails, not tucked into a corner of the mattress, not attached to a mobile.
Cord out of reach. Keep the machine and its cord well away from where your baby could pull them in.
Not a crying filter. White noise should not be so loud that it drowns out your baby for you. You need to hear them, especially during a Ferber week when you are timing check-ins.

If you use a phone or speaker instead of a dedicated machine, the same rules apply. Phones and speakers can get loud too.

Safe sleep still comes first

A white noise machine is not part of the sleep space itself. The crib should still follow the AAP’s safe sleep guidance: baby on their back, on a firm, flat surface, with a fitted sheet and nothing else in the crib. No pillows, bumpers, blankets or soft toys. The AAP notes that soft objects and loose bedding can increase a baby’s risk of entrapment, suffocation or strangulation. The full guidance is in the AAP parent’s guide to safe sleep.

Other parts of the room worth setting up

White noise is one small piece of the sleep space. A few others matter at least as much:

A dark room. Blackout blinds help, especially for early bedtimes in summer and early morning light.
A comfortable temperature. The AAP suggests dressing your baby in only one layer more than you are wearing.
A calm, short bedtime routine. The AAP recommends putting babies to bed drowsy rather than waiting until they are asleep. A routine that ends with your baby in the crib awake is what sets up the method.

If you are breastfeeding and wondering how bedtime feeds fit around all this, our article on Ferber and breastfeeding covers it. Our guide to the first night walks through the rest of Night 1.

One thing to do tonight

Move the white noise machine to the far side of the room, at least 6.5 feet from the crib, and turn it down to the lowest level that still covers the noise you are worried about. Then decide whether it will be on every night of the week, and stick with that.

The Ferber app runs the chart for each night, alerts you when it is time for a check-in, and times the check-in for 2 minutes by default.

Common questions

Can I use white noise during the Ferber method?

Yes. Nothing in the Ferber method rules it out. Many families use it to cover household sounds, siblings or traffic. Keep the volume low, place the machine well away from the crib, and use it the same way every night so it becomes a steady part of the sleep space.

How loud should a white noise machine be for a baby?

Quiet. A 2014 study in Pediatrics tested 14 infant sleep machines at maximum volume and found all of them exceeded the 50 decibel noise limit recommended for hospital nurseries when measured 30 centimeters away. Keep the volume at the lowest level that does the job, and never at maximum.

Where should I put a white noise machine in the nursery?

Well away from the crib and never inside it. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, discussing the 2014 Pediatrics study, advises placing sleep machines more than 200 centimeters (about 6.5 feet) from the crib and keeping the volume low. Keep the machine and its cord out of your baby's reach.

Will my baby become dependent on white noise?

Some babies get used to it, much as they get used to a dark room. That is usually fine if you can provide it every night. If you would rather not rely on it, the Ferber method works without it too. The main thing is to decide before Night 1 and keep it the same all week.

Sources

Written by The Ferber team. Educational information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child’s health, feeding or growth, talk to your pediatrician.

All articles