Why Sleep Sounds Aren't Enough Anymore

Brown noise was everywhere for a while. TikTok discovered it, everyone downloaded a noise app, and for a few nights, it worked. The deep, even hum blocked out the world and you slept great.

Then it stopped working. Not because the sound changed. Because your brain figured it out. It habituated to the noise, which is what it's supposed to do. But once the noise became invisible, you were right back where you started: alone in a quiet room with your thoughts.

Sound masks the environment. It doesn't change how you feel.

The Two Problems of Sleep

Most sleep apps treat one problem: noise. External sounds that wake you up or keep you alert. White noise, brown noise, pink noise, rain, fans. They all solve the same thing. They give your auditory system a flat, predictable input so it stops reacting to random sounds in your environment.

That's a real problem and sound genuinely fixes it. But it's not the only problem. The other problem is harder: the feeling of being alone with your own mind.

That's the one that keeps you staring at the ceiling at 1am even though the room sounds fine. That's the one that makes you pick up your phone and scroll, not because you want to see anything but because the screen feels like company. That's the one no sound app addresses.

Why People Leave the TV On

Millions of people fall asleep with the TV on every night. Not because they're watching. Because it fills the room with the sound of other humans. Voices, laughter, movement. It signals to your brain that you're not the only one awake. That someone else is "in the room."

The problem is obvious: the TV is terrible for sleep. The light disrupts melatonin. The volume shifts. A loud commercial jolts you awake. The content changes and your brain starts listening again.

But people keep doing it because the alternative, lying alone in perfect silence, feels worse.

I used to fall asleep to The Office every single night. Not because I liked it that much. Because I needed voices in the room. When I realized that, it kind of hit me.

Monotone user

Sound Plus Presence

What actually works for sleep is solving both problems at once. Sound that masks your environment so your brain stops scanning for threats. And presence that makes you feel like you're not alone so your nervous system stands down.

That's what Monotone does. The sounds are there, and they're good. Steady, flat, monotone audio with no variation. Brown noise, soft rain, low hum. Your brain habituates to them in minutes.

But the sounds aren't the product. The product is the companion. A quiet AI presence that's there when you open the app. It doesn't talk. It doesn't ask you anything. It just exists in the same space as you, the same way a partner who's already fallen asleep exists next to you. You know they're there. That's enough.

Sound handles the room. Presence handles you.

The App That Replaced the TV

We hear this a lot from users. They used to fall asleep to Netflix, YouTube, podcasts, anything with human voices. Now they open Monotone instead. Same instinct, better outcome. The room feels occupied. The silence is gone. But there's no screen, no plot to follow, no volume spikes. Just steady sound and the feeling that something is with you.

That's the thing about sleep. It was never really about the noise. It was about not wanting to be the only one awake.

Monotone is a sleep companion app that combines soft monotone sounds with quiet AI presences. Built for people who fall asleep to the TV, can't handle silence, or just don't want to feel alone at night. No talking, no content, no screens. Just presence and sound. Available on iOS.