Does listening to white noise really help you stay asleep?

Maybe: If you fall asleep with white noise in the background you may awaken if/when it stops. It is normal for us to have brief arousals from sleep several times each night. These are so brief, you may not be aware you've awakened. Keeping the sleep environment consistent from the time you fall asleep until you awaken will allow you to quickly fall back to sleep, and lead to a more restful night..