A sound is easy to leave in the background when it changes slowly and has no sudden peaks in it. The Relax mix, beach waves with green noise underneath, is built from two sounds that both work that way.
What is in the Relax mix?
Beach waves, a real recording of surf at Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, plays at 85%, with green noise underneath at 25%, so the recording carries the mix and the noise sits low beneath it. The waves rise and fall slowly, with no sudden sounds in them; green noise, generated live in your browser, adds an even floor underneath rather than any movement of its own. Either one on its own, or another recording such as night wetland or jungle rain, is one tap away if you would rather try something else.
How long does it play?
With Pro, the Relax mix is set to thirty minutes, and the timer also offers 15, 60 and 90 minutes, or all night, which is eight hours. Without Pro, it plays for fifteen minutes a day. It fades out over about half a minute at the end rather than stopping suddenly. The rise at the start takes about four seconds, easing the sound in rather than starting it at full volume all at once.
If your mind is the noise, not the room, a slow story may suit you better. Lullable, from the same maker, reads quiet, true stories on iPhone. Lullable sleep stories
Where the sound comes from
Green noise. Made in your browser, not a recording.
Listen safely
This is a sound, played back through whatever speaker or headphones you already own. It doesn't diagnose, measure, or promise anything about how you sleep, focus, or feel — it's just noise and a handful of real recordings, mixed the way you like them.
Keep the volume low enough that you'd still notice a smoke alarm, a phone ringing, or someone at the door. If you fall asleep in headphones, choose a volume and a pair you'd be comfortable wearing all night, and a session length that ends when you'd want the sound to stop.
If you use this near a baby, keep the speaker several feet from the crib, never inside or clipped to it, and keep the volume low — the same care you'd take with any sound machine in a nursery.
If your relationship with sound, or with sleep, feels difficult rather than simply restless, a doctor or audiologist is the right person to talk to. This is a mixer, not a clinician.