Are student's too busy googling sleep to actually get any?

Google Trends analysis by AXA PPP healthcare reveals that students might be so busy googling ‘sleep,’ they’re not actually getting any.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, searches for ‘sleep + student’ have peaked every September for the past five years, but the problem isn’t getting better. In fact, it’s getting worse. So far this week, searches have peaked to an all-time high. What’s worse is that recent research found that poor sleep had the same impact on a student’s grade as binge-drinking and drug use.

People in the student city of Leicester were the top searches for ‘sleep.’ Whilst those in the cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Oxford, all ranked in the top 20.

In a survey by healthcare provider AXA PPP, sleep was ranked as the activity which has the greatest impact on personal resilience (32 per cent) and 42 per cent claim that, in a period high stress, quality of sleep was the factor most affected. With this in mind, AXA PPP healthcare has collaborated with influencers, producers and even robots to create three weird and wonderful sleep techniques for you to try.

Dr Mark Winwood, Director of Psychological Services at AXA PPP healthcare commented: “We all have trouble sleeping occasionally – perhaps as a result of stress or something traumatic happening in our lives. Whether it’s temporary or something you’ve been living with for a while, it’s important to identify what might be causing your sleep disturbance so that you can take steps to alleviate it. People are all different so a ‘one size fits all’ solution isn’t helpful. Experts have contributed to this so that you can find what works for you.”

ASMR – the one with the whispering

‘The best gasm you’ve never had’ – ASMR videos are a huge YouTube trend, yet many people have never heard of this technique. ASMR is predominately focused on high definition sounds such as whispering. Some people find it creates a tingling sensation which induces relaxation. AXA PPP healthcare collaborated with one of the UK’s most popular ASMRtist’s, WhispersRed, to remaster a track, creating a new night sound. Dr Mark Winwood explains how the release of ‘bonding hormones’ or ‘love drugs’ triggered by the track can help induce these feelings of safety and relaxation – like the nurturing of a mother at the touch of a button.

Lullabies – no, they’re not just for babies

The healthcare provider has produced two lullabies to be enjoyed by adults and children alike – one composed and played by humans, the other created by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine. Have a listen to see which sends you off to sleep. With the help of an internationally renowned composer and a robot (yes, you read that correctly), the essence of the humble lullaby has been given a 21^st Century reinvention by producing two, very different lullabies.

So, who will win – the machine or the human? Well, we’ll let you decide that one.

Coloured noise – we know you’ve heard of white but what about the others?

If you’re hoping to fall asleep faster, reach a deeper state of sleep or simply block out your annoying neighbours to get a full night’s rest, more noise could be the answer. The notion of noise helping us to sleep may seem counterintuitive, but it can in fact help us to drift off if we find the type of sound that suits us best. We travelled to three locations to record some different colours of sound frequencies for you to try: the peaceful Trwyn Llanbedrog beach in North Wales; one of London’s busiest overpasses; and the quietest place in the UK, Kielder Forest. Picking the right colour can actually improve the quality of your sleep.