Need to relax? These sound apps do the trick for me – here's how

Relaxation is necessary for good health. And concentration. And positive thinking. And so many other things.

There are times when relaxation escapes me, especially in times of stress (which seems to be constant these days). When I find myself in such a situation, I most often turn to sound . . . specifically sound designed for the purpose of relaxation and concentration.

Also: The best sleep headphones: Expert tested

To achieve those necessary levels of Ommmmm, I typically use an ambient sound app. I use them when writing, memorizing, and even sleeping. With those sounds to fill my head with calm, life would be considerably more challenging.

But which apps do I use for such a purpose? I’m going to point out my four favorite ambient sound apps (for each of the major operating systems). 

1. Blanket (Linux)

Blanket is a simple-to-use ambient sound generator that includes sounds for Nature (rain, storm, wind, waves, stream, birds, summer night), Travel (train, boat, city), Interiors (coffee shop, fireplace), and Noise (pink and white noise). You can also add your own custom sounds (there’s support for .ogg, .flac, .wav, and .mp3 files). 

The best part about Blanket is that you can customize the mix of sounds. For example, you can combine the sound of a city with a storm, adjusting the levels for each. You might want more storm sounds than city sounds, so raise the volume on storm and lower it on city. You could add as many sounds as you like to create your own soundscape, with just the right emphasis on the sounds you need the most. You won’t find much in the way of configurations (you can only set Blanket to run at login), but the app really doesn’t need it. 

Also: Do sunrise alarm clocks actually work? Here’s how the Hatch Restore affected my sleep

To use Blanket, open the app, hit Play (top-left corner), and then adjust the levels of each sound you want. It’s incredibly easy to use and free.

You can install Blanket from the standard repositories for most Linux distributions.

2. Blankie (MacOS/iOS)

Sensing a theme here with the names? Blankie is a MacOS/iOS app that is just fantastic. You can add any combination of sounds (from rain, storm, wind, waves, stream, birds, summer night, train, boat, city, coffee shop, fireplace, white noise, and pink noise), raising or lowering the volume for each, until you have the perfect soundscape. 

Also: These 7 tech products helped us find inner peace

One of the best features of Blankie is that it allows you to create presets. Let’s say for sleep you want a combination of storm, wind, and summer night, with storm having the focus and wind and summer night more in the background. Once you’ve created the perfect blend, click Preset (upper-right corner), click New Preset, click the Pencil icon, and give the preset a name. The next time you want that exact combination, select the preset and you’ll be greeted by that peaceful noise. 

You could create presets for sleep, study, work, relaxation, or whatever you need.

Blankie is available on both the MacOS and iOS App Stores and is free to use.

3. Sleep Jar (Android/iOS)

Sleep Jar is special because it offers so many sounds. But the peace doesn’t end there. You also get binaural beats (which are fantastic to use for concentration), stories, meditations, and journeys. And the list of available sounds is extensive (far more than any app on the list). In fact, there are so many sounds available to Sleep Jar that a search feature was added. 

Also: 5 expert-backed tips to get better sleep – especially if you own a health-tracking wearable

I’ve used Sleep Jar quite often when traveling. Although I don’t tend to use the meditations, stories, or journeys features, I’m sure there are those who will find them to be quite relaxing. The one caveat to Sleep Jar is that you can’t create a custom combination of sounds unless you pay for the Premium version of the app. Also, there’s only one binaural beats sound, but it’s pretty good. You could spend a good amount of time combing through the different sounds to find the perfect one for your needs.

Sleep Jar can be used for free, but there is a Premium version that allows you to download content (for offline use), unlock the full library of sounds, mix content together, have superior sound quality, receive premium content drops, and have cross-platform access. The Premium version costs $2.99/month or $19.99/year.

4. Binaural Beats (Windows)

I’m going to take a different route with Windows with an app geared specifically for binaural beats. If you aren’t hip to what this is, they are an auditory phenomenon that can alter brainwave activity, inducing a range of effects on mood, cognition, and relaxation. The most commonly used binaural frequencies are:

• Delta: induces deep sleep and relaxation
• Theta: facilitates meditation, creativity, and increased alpha activity
• Alpha: promotes relaxation, reduces anxiety, and improves mood
• Beta: enhances focus, concentration, and mental clarity

Also: How time-tracking apps can help you get more done – and my 4 favorite

The Binaural Beats app for Windows offers both binaural beats as well as isochronic tones (similar to binaural beats but they employ intervals of silence). Each type of “beat” includes those for all four frequencies and even includes descriptions of what they achieve. You can also switch the frequency of each to 11 Hz, 12 Hz, or 14 Hz. If you use the paid version, those frequencies go up to 30 Hz. There’s also music composed with specific frequencies. You can only select one “beat” at a time, but that’s fairly typical of these types of apps.

The free version of Binaural Beats does have a few limitations (mostly locked-out sounds), but you can purchase the no-ads version or the online version for $0.99, or the offline version for $2.99. Those are in-app purchases and are one-time payments.

Also: Need to relax? This new iPhone feature does the trick for me – here’s how

Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.