Uses
Sounds for meditation
No voice and no guide: the sound you chose, for as long as you chose.
Background Noises has no narration, no breathing cues and no guided sessions. For unguided meditation it offers three kinds of sound: steady noise, a single held tone, and quiet instrumental music. Tap one and sit with it: pause it when you are done, or set the sleep timer and the sound stops by itself.
Which sound suits unguided practice?
- A held tone from Tones gives the ear one point to rest on. Lower tones hum; higher ones ring.
- Steady noise, such as pink or grey, fills a room without asking for attention.
- A quiet music station, such as Ambient (warm pads and soft drones with no melody) or Calm, plays one track after another with no beat to follow.
How long should a session be?
As long as suits you. The sleep timer offers 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1, 1.5, 2, 4 or 8 hours, and you can pause at any moment. The Free plan plays a 60-second sample of each sound, which is enough to try one; longer sessions need Premium.
How does a session end?
When the sleep timer runs out, the sound stops; or pause it yourself. There is no voice telling you the session is over.
Do I need headphones?
No. Tones, noise and music sound the same through a speaker, which can be easier to sit with for a long session.
Can it keep a log of my practice?
In the web player, yes, if you turn on Keep my listening sessions in Settings: it saves when each session you finish started and how long it lasted, in your account, and you can delete them there. The apps keep no log and write nothing to a health app.
See also: the 10 tones and sounds for sleep.
Press play.
The Free plan plays a 60-second sample of everything. Premium plays the eight music and four nature stations, the noise colors and the tones for hours.
