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In addition to being calming and visually appealing, nature has been found to provide significant health and well-being benefits. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that exposure to nature sounds can reduce stress levels and alleviate pain.
While spending time outdoors is the ideal way to experience nature, listening to recorded nature sounds can also provide benefits. For those with busy schedules or limited access to natural environments, iOS apps can make it easier to incorporate the soothing sounds of nature into their daily lives. Check out how does technology increases productivity in the workplace.
1. BetterSleep: Relax and Sleep
BetterSleep is a multifaceted app that claims to provide personalized sleep experiences. Along with an array of meditation exercises and bedtime stories, it offers a vast library of nature sounds, including familiar ones like waterfalls, oceans, and bird songs, as well as more unconventional options such as bumblebees, horse gallops, and even chicken clucks.
Here are the 5 Best Sleep Apps, According to Sleep Experts.
Subscribing to the app unlocks all features, enabling you to create a custom audio mix based on your personal preferences. Easily blend and adjust multiple audio streams. Choose from pre-made mashups curated by the BetterSleep team and community, featuring themes such as camping in the woods or relaxing by a Canadian lake.
Save and share your mixes, set alarms and sleep timers, and explore the numerous other features of this fantastic app. With over 55 million downloads, BetterSleep has become a popular and established choice for users seeking to bring the rejuvenating power of nature into their lives, no matter where they are.
Download: BetterSleep: Relax and Sleep (Free, Subscription Available)
2. Rain Rain Sleep Sounds
The Rain Rain app is a popular choice on the App Store, with over 10 million downloads and a high rating. It offers a vast selection of high-quality sounds that are quite realistic, even when heard through headphones. You can easily create and save a unique mix of your favorite sounds, and there are timers and reminders to help you sleep. The app can also output audio to your Bluetooth or Airplay device, and you can even mix in the sounds of rainbows with audio from other sources.
While the free version provides plenty of sound options, you can purchase additional sounds with tokens or unlock all features by subscribing. The app has a user-friendly interface and is a great way to fully immerse yourself in nature sounds without breaking the bank.
Download: Rain Rain (Free in-app purchases available)
3. Sounds to Sleep & Noise: Kairu
Kairu Sounds appear similar to Rain Rain in terms of appearance and features. It offers a decent selection of nature and urban sounds, but with a critical difference – it uses images instead of words to identify options. This makes it an excellent option for young children.
Although Kairu’s sound effects are not as detailed and exciting as Rain Rain’s, they are still of good quality. The app only allows you to mix two sounds and does not offer the option to save or share the results. However, Kairu’s subscription fee is lower than that of Bettersleep or Rain Rain. Overall, this app can be an excellent choice for helping young children relax.
Download: Sounds to Sleep & Noise: Kairu (Subscription required, free trial available)
4. White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds
The Deep Sleep Sounds app combines the best features of the previously mentioned apps and is constantly updated with new features. It offers around 30 sounds for free, but upgrading to a subscription allows access to a broader range of sounds in improved 3D stereo sound quality and an ad-free experience.
Here are the 5 Best Sleep Apps, According to Sleep Experts.
This app is specifically designed for parents, with soothing sounds to induce sleep and create a peaceful atmosphere. It allows users to mix multiple audio streams and has an oscillator function that gently spreads the audio track throughout the room.
Parents can also use the White Noise Machine, which plays natural sounds to help their children sleep.
Download: White Noise Deep Sleep Sounds (Free, subscription available)
5. Wild Journey – Nature Sounds
Wild Journey – Nature Sounds, a family that has spent time away from the internet, has developed a series of apps called Nature’s. Among them, Natural Sounds stands out as a beautiful and immersive app. You can select your favorite sounds and lose yourself in the forest’s silence or a sunny lakeshore’s peacefulness.
In addition to the proper selection, the app includes guided meditations, sleep scenes, and timers. Wild Journey also integrates with Apple Health to track your minutes of wakefulness. What sets this app apart is its stunning design and subtle animations. Each sound is a work of art that takes you on a complete journey into nature. Wild Journey is undoubtedly the most impressive app among all those listed here.
Download: Wild Journey: Nature Sounds (Subscription required, free trial available)
6. Pure Nature – 3D Soundscapes
Lang Elliott, a recording artist, created Pure Nature 3D, a free app featuring over 80 audio combinations designed explicitly for headphones. The attention to detail captured in this app is impressive, with sounds like thunder and waves crashing on the shore being incredibly realistic. Simply close your eyes and immerse yourself in the experience.
Each track has a short written commentary that provides additional information about the audio recording. In-app purchases are available to expand your collection, but plenty of free tracks exist. This app is perfect for those who want to experience nature without having to mix sounds themselves. Rest assured that you’re in good hands with a true master of audio recording.
Download: Pure Nature – 3D Soundscapes (Free in-app purchases available)
7. Soothing Sleep
Soothing Sleep is an app that offers 10 categories of stereo recordings of nature sounds worldwide, complete with stunning photographs. With 25 natural sounds, you can create your custom mix based on your preferences. The app includes a sleep timer with a gradual fade-out feature to help you sleep peacefully.
What sets this app apart is that it is entirely free, with only a tiny ad displayed at the bottom of the screen without interrupting your listening experience. However, you can purchase Sleep Sounds HQ separately if you prefer an ad-free experience and higher-quality recordings.
Download: Soothing Sleep (Free) | Sleep Sounds HQ: relaxing aid (6.99 USD)
8. Apple Music
By subscribing to Apple Music, you can easily access a variety of natural soundtracks without having to download a separate app. Apple Music offers a wide range of options for listening to natural sounds, so it’s worth checking out the premium features.
Harness the power of nature to help your mind relax.
Using any of these apps, you can easily unwind and relax while working, studying, traveling, or sleeping. The sounds of nature can help calm your mind, alleviate stress, and enable you to concentrate on yourself for a moment. With the world’s fast-paced and ever-changing lifestyle, these apps offer a chance to experience nature virtually when you cannot venture into the wild alone.
Here are the 5 Best Sleep Apps, According to Sleep Experts.
