Should You Run White Noise All Night?

There's no single rule that bans all-night play. There is good reason to prefer a timer — here's the honest version.

This is general information for a parenting/consumer audience, not medical advice. It doesn't replace guidance from your pediatrician, and every baby is different.

What the guidance actually says

We haven't found a specific American Academy of Pediatrics statement that directly says "don't play white noise all night." What does exist is broader AAP guidance (a 2023 policy statement in Pediatrics) on limiting excessive noise exposure for infants, children, and adolescents generally. Framing a timer as "aligned with guidance to limit exposure duration" is accurate; claiming a direct rule against all-night play overstates what's actually been published.

Why a timer is still the sensible default

The loudness research behind the 50 dB target was about instantaneous sound levels — running any sound continuously for 8+ hours is a different, longer exposure than the short measurements in that study, and duration is generally a relevant factor in any noise-exposure guidance.
A sleep-association dependency — a baby who only settles with white noise on — is widely described by pediatric and parenting sources as a plausible outcome of nightly, all-night use. It's generally considered manageable rather than dangerous, more a practical inconvenience (travel, power outages) than a health risk, but it's a real reason some parents prefer a timer.
A fade-out means the room returns to natural quiet gradually rather than the sound cutting off abruptly and possibly waking your baby.

How hushnap handles this

The timer defaults to 30 minutes, with 15-minute, 1-hour, and unlimited (∞) options available if you want continuous play — that choice is yours to make. When a timer is set, playback fades out gently over the last stretch rather than stopping abruptly.

Sources

American Academy of Pediatrics, "Preventing Excessive Noise Exposure in Infants, Children, and Adolescents," Pediatrics 152(5), 2023 — general policy guidance on limiting noise-exposure duration.
Hugh SC, Wolter NE, Propst EJ, et al. "Infant Sleep Machines and Hazardous Sound Pressure Levels." Pediatrics 133(4):677–681, 2014.