# Do you sleep with a fan or other noise on?



## 6007 (Feb 12, 2010)

Fan and white noise and ear plugs


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

I can't sleep without white noise of some kind.

If it is dead silence, any little sound is something my mind will immediately latch onto and I can't fall asleep.
if the sound has predictable patterns (music, etc.), my mind also will focus on it.
I need white noise.


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## RainyAutumnTwilight (Sep 28, 2012)

I don't really need certain noises to help me sleep. I live downtown in an apartment, so I can always hear cars and people outside my window, as well as footsteps above me, and I'm just used to it. It's the rhythm of life around me. I used to have a roommate who needed to listen to a specific CD to fall asleep and, at first, it was really hard for me to fall asleep to music, but I gained the ability after awhile. I only sleep with the window open or the heat/air if it's outdoor temperature influences me to.


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## Sonyx (Mar 7, 2014)

I always sleep with music on can't sleep without some sort of background noise, It feels too creepy sleeping in pure silence


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## BABYMETAL (Apr 4, 2014)

Fans only when I need it. 

I listen to a different album every night. Usually I fall asleep when I get to the 4th song or so.


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## Azelll (Jan 19, 2011)

lol i have a regular fan, a ceiling fan, and have to keep my computer running for the cpu fan noise XD i have to have that many fan to sleep


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

Loupgaroux said:


> A fan, white noise machine or any other thing makes a low, constant noise to drown out other sounds.
> 
> I've always slept with a fan on & cannot sleep without one. I can't fathom how anyone can sleep in utter silence. :angry:


I lived on a Navy ship and I lived near an active railroad track. I like it as dark as possible with a fan running, so I can stay snuggled under the covers without waking up in a pool of my own sweat. 

I remember the first night after I left the navy as if it were yesterday. It was so damn QUIET!


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## IncoherentBabbler (Oct 21, 2013)

I need something to pull my focus outside my head so my thoughts don't keep me awake. Predictable patterns in the audio sends me right back into my head though. Sadly, I haven't had a noise generator running at night in a long while.


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## Ekstasis (Dec 26, 2013)

I mostly sleep with no noise on, whatsoever. But recently I've found out that I can in fact sleep with a certain kind of noise in the background. For example, white noise doesn't bother me as much as instrumental music does when I try to sleep. In fact, even the slightest sound wakes me up, yet when there is a loud noise blaring into my ears I sleep like a baby. Very weird.


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## Belzy (Aug 12, 2013)

No, a fan would keep me awake.

Thankfully I don't hear any sounds when I'm in bed, usually, but when I do, I can't sleep as well.

Television is the exception though.


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## CaptSwan (Mar 31, 2013)

Usually, loud noises wake me up; but, not fans or stuff like that. The only thing I find annoying when trying to sleep is hearing ticking clocks... they drive me insane in a split second.


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## dumastory (Oct 1, 2013)

I voted for can't sleep without it but I haven't actually tried to sleep w/o one for awhile. I haven't really turned my fan off in MONTHS except for when I clean it. I'm sure I could sleep without it though. I live next to an expressway so its really loud at my house, so i wouldnt be sleeping in silence either way


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## Purrfessor (Jul 30, 2013)

I used to need the fan on to sleep. Now I don't. I wonder why this has changed?


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

When I took my roadtrip, I found that a fan would have been beneficial. I guess the heat kicking in in the hotel room helped though.


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## Du Lhut (Mar 13, 2014)

I NEED a loud fan! I'm a very light sleeper. The sound of my own breathing will keep me awake


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## Abbigailius (Apr 13, 2014)

I slept just fine without any fan or noise machine until the noisy downstairs neighbors moved into my apartment building. The floors/ceilings must be so thin here to not cancel the sound of the dude SNORING. He's loud when he talks, too. And his wife is a songwriter of some sort. She's always plunking away on her guitar. So yeah, fan running when I sleep as well as whenever their noise is bothering me. Which is most of the time.


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## The Marauder (Apr 30, 2014)

I always need some kind of noise when I'm sleeping. If it's too quiet, the static sounds in my ears would really bother me and make it difficult to fall asleep.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

Tinnitus can be annoying sometimes that's a possible explanation.


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## ALongTime (Apr 19, 2014)

I used to have a mechanical clock that was very loud, and I could sleep with that just fine. I don't any more, and don't need it... but it could be a good idea to drown out other noises. I'm a very deep sleeper so I don't have a problem with that.

That said, sudden loud noises are a problem especially at night, from the point of view of fear. I always turn off my doorbell and disconnect my phone because anything like that at night is a big issue (much to the annoyance of my close family who say it's dangerous in emergencies etc. to be completely uncontactable, but it would scare me to death if the phone rings at night).


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## THEQUEENAMIDALAFAN (May 2, 2014)

*I am unable to sleep without a fan on!!!*:shocked:
"I will NOT defer" ... "I have come before you to resolve this attack on our Sovereignty now! I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee!" --Queen Amidala-- "Hope is home, and the heart is free." --Enya-- "Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drums! It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes...Tomorrow comes!!" --Les Miserables-- 
Sincerely,
❤
Brian Weston Blamires.


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## Michael82 (Dec 13, 2010)

I got tinnitus, which is "the beep in your ear after a night's out, but then permanent"...it's not so loud so I don't hear it during the day, but I definitely hear it in bed. I usually put on some relaxing music because sometimes it is quite disturbing.

When I was young I lived on a big sailing ship and sometimes couldn't sleep during sailing trips due to my body moving around. Though when the engine started running I'd fall asleep from knowing that we neared the harbor. Now I always sleep well in cars, buses and trains, not bothered by the sound or moving. Sound doesn't bother me when I feel relaxed and I don't even need to be sleepy . Guess I'm lucky that I can sleep both with and without sound. The only way I can't sleep is when I can't focus on it, like when I get extremely distracted, nervous, or when I'm just plain effin stubborn :laughing:


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## nuut (Jan 13, 2014)

I sleep to the sound of music, the only reason being i scared myself shitless from reading reddit.com/nosleep.


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## Brightwing (May 1, 2014)

I can't sleep WITH one. I actually got into a pretty big argument with my roommate one year in college because she needed a fan to sleep but neglected to say so before actually moving in. We weren't able to resolve it and both ended up moving out. 

To say that I sleep in silence isn't entirely correct since I do have the constant ticking of a clock in my room. I find the ticking to be calming, but fans/white noise are infuriating. I like to let my thoughts wander as I fall asleep, and white noise interferes with that.


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## Rice (Apr 27, 2014)

No, it's difficult for me to fall asleep with that type of constant noise. I can get used to it if I have to, like in the summer when it's hot and I need a fan, but I prefer not having it. I also can't sleep without some type of noise though, it just needs to be random, everyday noise as opposed to a constant sound. I do like sleeping with music if I'm away from home though since it drowns out all of the small sounds I'm not used to.


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## Super-Yoshi (Mar 2, 2014)

My favorite is my loud ticking clock when I go to bed. It's pretty peaceful listening to it, and I love falling asleep to it.. but now that I don't have the clock anymore, I listen to the rain instead. It has to be a good quality though, as if I'm listening to it in real life, otherwise it just becomes noise.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

It's warm down here so I should use a fan not just for the white noise but to keep cool, lol.


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## Mystic MagentaRose (May 7, 2014)

If I'm hot I usually sleep with the fan on. Tonight is definitely one of those times. The only time I put something on is when I'm stressed out or depressed: I usually put on Family Guy on which is always on Netflix and anytime I hear it as I'm falling asleep it soothes me and makes me feel better. It takes my mind off of things that's currently bothering me at the time cause I hate trying to sleep with racing thoughts and putting something on always helps me sleep better.


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## LostFavor (Aug 18, 2011)

Fan, yes. I slept without any white noise some of the time when I was younger, but nowadays, it's uncomfortable to sleep without it. I can do without if I have to, but I jolt awake pretty easily if I don't have white noise - I'm a really light sleeper.


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## blood roots (Oct 29, 2013)

Fan on. Always. Sometimes I can fall asleep listening to music, but any other sound besides the one the fan makes is not preferred.


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## emmylouise (Nov 7, 2013)

The slightest noise (other than breathing) and I can't sleep, so a fan/radio is a definite no no.


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## herinb (Aug 24, 2013)

I think like crazy at night and have a really hard time falling asleep. I listen to audiobooks of a something I've already read and it helps a lot.. I think of it like I'm sticking my thoughts into a nice stream.


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## HandiAce (Nov 27, 2009)

As a child, I used to sleep with sound in the background because I believed it would scare away any monsters from attacking me in the night.


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## Pucca (Jun 13, 2012)

My SO must have the fan, so I'm ok with it as long as the fan has a steady rhythm and is on low.


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## aphinion (Apr 30, 2013)

I sleep with a fan for the noise. It has to be decently loud. If someone breaks into my house or the smoke alarm goes off, I want to effectively drown that out.


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## Madman (Aug 7, 2012)

Depends on my mood.


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## Amandine (May 11, 2014)

I do, but only in the summer.


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## tiki (May 11, 2014)

Yes. I'm deaf person and noise is not important except we sleep on a floor and house vibrations bug me some times. Fan vibrations will help it.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

I prefer it to be as quiet as possible. The best noises to fall asleep to however are those of nature. I won't forget when I was camping close to a river and I would hear frogs and insects and the leaves from the trees and in the morning, cows mooing.


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## Spades (Aug 31, 2011)

I can sleep as long as the sound is *consistent* and quiet enough. As a light sleeper, I can't even have soft music playing because it's not consistent noise. Total silence is very much preferred.


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## SoloHin (Jul 15, 2019)

I don't understant why you can't fall asleep with A/C on, I can't deal with the heat, if it is too hot I won't fall asleep and my productivity on the next day is nothing. I had problems in past with the air conditioner but after I changed at the suggestion of some friends from air conditioning servicing, I don;t hear it at all and I sleep without any problems. No sound at all.


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## Kynx (Feb 6, 2012)

I like thunder & rain sounds to fall asleep


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## Mange (Jan 9, 2011)

Only in the summer


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## Little Bee (Nov 22, 2017)

I sleep with a fan on and even have a white noise machine for when it's too cold to have a fan on. It helps me relax by drowning out the little noises that would otherwise make it harder for me to fall asleep. I'm a pretty sound sleeper once asleep, however.


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## bearlybreathing (Aug 6, 2013)

What's sleep? Oh that thing I did last week... yeah if I sleep it's going to be because it's pitch black and I have my Beethoven for Bed CD playing.


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## Antalya (Aug 12, 2019)

I prefer it. I don’t need it but it will take me longer to fall asleep without some constant, non-staticky white noise.


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## Suntide (Dec 22, 2018)

Always sleep with my fan on, and usually have some rain/thunder or ocean white noise playing too. Occasionally I will put on music to go to sleep but what I am able to fall asleep to without getting distracted is pretty limited. It has to be instrumental, and it can't have too fast a tempo. Usually something like vaporwave. I used to fall asleep to youtube videos but if I do that now I end up waking up shortly after falling asleep annoyed by the sounds of talking.


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## 30812 (Dec 22, 2011)

High-pitched tinnitus in both ears for the last 2 decades whenever I am awake. Don't need it but used to it already.


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## Janna (Aug 31, 2018)

I often have either standup comedy on, or some show that I like but that I've seen so many times that I don't care if I fall asleep and miss it. This summer I've been sleeping to HBO's Chernobyl over and over again. 

If I choose standup, it has to be something mediocre - not too annoying, not so great that I can't wait to hear the next thing. Also the comedian has to articulate in a way that allows the volume to be very low. Last night I had trouble sleeping and tried some guy with a heavy newyorkish-italian accent, and it didn't work because I had to either turn up the volume (doesn't work for sleeping) or concentrate on understanding what he said (doesn't work for sleeping).


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## Lucan1010 (Jul 23, 2018)

I always sleep with a fan on nearby.


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## Ziegel (Feb 11, 2019)

I sleep with the computer running because my connection is slow AF so I often download things during the night.


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## Dare (Nov 8, 2016)

Either quiet or water sounds (rain, ocean waves) works for me. 

When I relax in bed to music, I turn it off before sleeping. 

I fall asleep & stay asleep easily (low key/level noises don't wake me).


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## 0001 (Aug 11, 2019)

I like dead silence, I'd sleep in a sensory deprivation tank if I could.


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## Fade (Jul 14, 2019)

Nah.Noise makes me sleep worse.


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## VoicesofSpring (Mar 31, 2019)

This night I slept with windows open. A small cat jumping on the windows frame in order to enter the room woke me up. 
I have a moderate to moderately severe hearing loss. 
What can disturb more my sleep are vibrations and smells.


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## brightflashes (Oct 27, 2015)

Wow. This poll is ancient. I wonder why it was recently revived? Anyway, i said other because I have issues with dry eyes and even if I have my eyes closed, if there is a fan on, I'll actually wake up with dry eyes. This tends to only happen with ceiling fans and only when they are turned on very high. 

I prefer to have some sort of air flow going on or else I'll not be able to go to sleep, so I'll turn on the fan of our HVAC and that achieves what I'd be looking for. The noise factor is a plus but not the purpose.


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## leftover crack (May 12, 2013)

I can hear what I could only describe as a jet engine noise at night if I leave the window open.


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## Eugenia Shepherd (Nov 10, 2017)

Occasionally, when overstimulated or otherwise psychologically "buzzed". 
It's always sci-fi themed white noise, i.e. aeroplane/aeronautical bridge sounds or technological babble. 
Feels friendly and familiar.


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## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

Slow fan and/or gentle AC when it's hot
No fan and/or gentle heat when it's cold
Open windows as much as possible


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## sharpstick (Jun 27, 2010)

In Florida I slept with a fan on every night because Florida, and now that I live farther north I use a white noise generator to help me sleep. I can sleep without it if I have to, but I don't prefer it.


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## SirCanSir (Mar 21, 2018)

Every noise is better than listening to someone else snoring when trying to sleep


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## Monadnock (May 27, 2017)

I definitely sleep better with a constant quiet noise than with total silence, and I love the cool air that a fan produces, so I answered "Can't sleep without one", even though I technically still can.


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## The Dude (May 20, 2010)

I sleep better with white noise, so yes.


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## MonarK (Jul 27, 2018)

The results of this poll are indicative of two conclusions:
1.) Once the mind comes to terms with a sleep environment possessing certain qualities and accepting those qualities as the norm, a sudden change would disrupt the brain's ability to enter a reduced state of activity/sleep.
2.) Presupposing that the first-world at large is all too used to constant, intense stimulation (as most of you would probably agree), a deviation from that would be perceived by the lower mind as unnatural, if not worrisome.

The situation at hand is that many among us are so attuned to the hustle and bustle of our day to day lives, as well as it pouring over into slots of time that should be reserved for readying oneself for sleep, that we need some form of external stimulation if we are to even function within this new norm...but I'm just pointing out the obvious, as implicit as it is.


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## Forest Nymph (Aug 25, 2018)

Yes I do have a "sleep machine" that I like with rain or ocean sounds. I grew up in rural West Virginia and I can sleep without white noise when I'm camping or in a very quiet place. I do live in a rural area but a freeway was built near here in the late 60s so there's a mild "whoosh whoosh" I'd rather replace with waves. I actually prefer the natural sounds of the rain season here, it's a temperate rain forest so we get huge storms from November through March or April. 

I don't like modern life. None of my roommates own a television or play especially loud music. There's zero technology in our living room, we all own laptops, phones, headsets, etc. I am completely adverse to the sound of television in the background. I think people who sleep with it on regularly are irreversibly damaged. One of my friends who did committed suicide. That's completely anecdotal but if you research it, television has hypnotic properties, particularly news shows and advertisements, and that's intensified when you sleep.The shrinks who tell you to turn all screens off 30 minutes before bed aren't just whistling Dixie.

I actually love silence and I can tolerate it for a couple of days, I wish I was old school and could live with it longer, maybe someday I will. 

But the entire purpose for me of white noise is to erase the modern world. When I actually can with silence, all the better.


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## Jaune (Jul 11, 2013)

I only use a fan when it's hot. I do like the noise, but I have a white noise machine which is useful when it gets cold.


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## BenevolentBitterBleeding (Mar 16, 2015)

Yah, the sound of traffic.


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## crazitaco (Apr 9, 2010)

I always sleep with the fan on but its not noisy.
However, sometimes when I want to fall asleep a little faster, i might play a cat asmr video. Something about cats and the little sounds they make makes me sleepy.


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## bubblePOP (Aug 8, 2014)

I need a fan on when I sleep, both to keep the circulation in the air, and for the noise.


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## Eren Jaegerbomb (Nov 13, 2015)

Yes, ever since I got really bad anxiety when I was younger. And I'm very used to it now. Cannot sleep in silence, too many intruding and unwanted thoughts. It's painful and worrisome. I could train myself to not use the fan and control my thoughts maybe by meditation or something, but if my thoughts pose a threat then I need the noise.

Sometimes I don't like it too loud though otherwise it just becomes irritating. Sometimes I like the louder noise, depends how active my brain is, I guess. (But I usually daydream before I go to sleep, so medium fan noise is best.)


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## Paulie (Jun 23, 2011)

I'll play, at a low volume, some ambient music. The good thing is I'm sleeping above and the music go through small speakers downstairs wired to my lap top. You can find endlessly long videos like this:




The fan stays on in warm whether, then gets put away.


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Yes, I sleep with the fan on because it's hot in 'ere and I don't want to take off all my clothes.


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## Introvertia (Feb 6, 2016)

I find any noise highly disturbing when trying to sleep. Earplugs ftw.


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## BroNerd (Nov 27, 2010)

I have a sleep machine. Works wonders.


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## Marble and Blizzard (Oct 17, 2019)

I love the cold. It's the perfect excuse to get a bunch of stuff on your bed and just snuggle in as the freeze surrounds you. So I NEED the fan on.


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## Lunar Lamp (Sep 21, 2014)

I always use a fan, yes. Even when it's cold outside. Lol. I like it for both the white noise and the cool air, because I don't like waking up feeling all stuffy and sweaty...


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## Eren Jaegerbomb (Nov 13, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> Yes, I sleep with the fan on because it's hot in 'ere and I don't want to take off all my clothes.


Sometimes it gets quite warm where I am that not even taking your clothes off would do much...


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