Lack of sleep – A serious worldwide epidemic
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), ‘insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic linked to motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters, and medical or other occupational errors’. There are also links between insufficient or poor sleep and an increase in depression, obesity, and cardiovascular disease as well as a whole host of other health issues, not to mention the impact on quality of life, relationships and work.

In 2017 the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) called for the introduction of a national sleep strategy and what they referred to as a “slumber number” – the ideal amount of sleep people should be aiming for each night. However, as many of us who have had 8 hours sleep a night will confirm – a night’s sleep is not always a good night’s sleep.

The solution – Introducing zero point lite
East-London based writing and production duo Silence & Air invited Lyz Cooper to create a piece of music aimed at helping people to drift off to sleep more easily. Lyz refers to her compositions as ‘Consciously Designed Music™’. CDM™ draws on the latest research in cognitive neuroscience and music psychology as well as Lyz’s research in the sound therapy field over the last 23 years. Lyz gave Silence & Air some guidelines for the track such as the length of the piece, the kinds of sounds to be used, the key and melodic structure. ‘All of the above are factors to consider when designing a piece with a specific outcome in mind’, says Lyz. Lyz has been composing for many years but hasn’t done as much as she would like due to being busy running The British Academy of Sound Therapy.

‘It is wonderful to get back into the studio and although working alone has creative freedom, I also enjoy collaborating with other artists. Collaboration is always a compromise but you always learn something new by working with other’s as they bring their own unique style to the piece. Several versions were made before making the decision to release Zero Point Lite in time for Sleep Awareness Week’.

Research
42 people worldwide took part in an action research study to test the effectiveness of Zero Point Lite. A 27 point questionnaire was used to assess quality and duration of sleep, as well as the impact that their sleep had on their overall health and well-being before listening to the track. Some of the re-track results were as follows:

42% of participants were reported to have a sleep problem all of the time
45% have a sleep problem some of the time
42% have difficulty switching off their thoughts every night
40% wake up feeling tired every day
28% wake up feeling tension in their muscles every day
13% wake up feeling anxious or stressed every day

Each participant was asked to listen to Zero Point Lite as many times as necessary over 10 day period and complete a post-test questionnaire. The results over the short space of time were very encouraging – see below and you can click here for the full results.

Testimonials
Below is some of the feedback we have received from the trial.

“In April 2016 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and spent two months waiting to find out if it had spread or not (fortunately it hadn’t) during this time my sleep suffered terribly living with the anxiety and uncertainty of a cancer diagnosis. I would struggle to get to sleep and wake in the night and then lie awake for 1,2,3, or 4 hours unable to get back to sleep. So I was keen to try Zero Point.

I’ve been using it about 5 – 6 weeks now …and I can pretty much say I’ve been asleep before the music ends…and the times I’ve woken in the night and not gone straight back to sleep I can probably count on one hand which is absolutely amazing! So the result for me is so beneficial, I wanted to say thank you! I will continue to use it, as it’s part of my sleep routine now and it’s working so amazingly well for me.” Alice

The first night I used it, I didn’t even hear the end, I slept after a few minutes. The waves are so good in it. You feel warm and comforted. Feel free to contact me

“Zero point definitely helped me to switch off and get to sleep quicker.”

“Zero Point helped me to go to sleep straight away. For the first time in weeks I only woke up once or twice in the night, huge improvement. The sound track is comforting, soothing. A sonic hug. I am very grateful for the opportunity, many thanks.”

55% of the people that took part in the study said they would definitely recommend it to others.

Click here to listen to Zero Point Lite – we’d love to hear what you think and wish you sweet dreams!

References: https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/policy/championing-the-publics-health/sleep.html http://www.sleepmanagement.md/sleepdisorders/Insomnia.aspx

Via