Waves that come and go
These waves are made by your browser, not recorded on a beach. Each loop holds three waves, 7, 9 and 8 seconds long. Each one swells, breaks, then pulls back over the sand and fades, and a low rumble of the open sea stays underneath. Because the three waves have different lengths, the rhythm feels natural instead of mechanical. The loop is 24 seconds long and joins without a seam.
What makes ocean sounds so calming for many people is that rhythm. A wave every 8 seconds or so is close to the pace of slow, relaxed breathing, and some people breathe along with it without thinking about it. If you want to do that on purpose, our breathing exercise gives you a guided rhythm.
Ocean sounds or steady noise?
Waves are not as steady as white noise: the sound rises and falls. That is relaxing, but it also means the quiet moments between waves mask outside noise a little less. If you live on a busy street, a steady sound like pink noise or rain may cover more. If your room is already fairly quiet and you mainly want to calm your mind, waves are a great choice.
| Use | Suggested setting |
|---|---|
| Falling asleep | 30 or 45 min, volume 3 to 4 |
| Relaxing after work | 20 min, volume 4, with the breathing exercise |
| Meditation | 10 or 15 min, low volume |
| All night | No limit, volume 2 to 3 |
Tips
Use headphones or two speakers if you can: the waves are in stereo and feel wider. On a phone, plug it in for a long night and go full screen: the display dims after a few seconds, so the room stays dark. The fade out at the end of the timer is slow, two minutes at most, so the sea seems to calm down rather than stop. For a lighter water sound with no rhythm, try the river.