Currys PC World releases Sound Asleep Album

As a third (29%) of the nation reveals they are exhausted and struggling to sleep amid the stresses of 2020, Currys PC World has teamed up with music producers, Obelisk, and sleep expert, Hope Bastine, to create the Sound Asleep album.

Made with technology to help the nation sleep better, it is available to stream and download on Spotify and Apple Music from today. Supported by research which shows that 40% of the UK population already use the sounds of technology such as smartphones, hairdryers or vacuum cleaners to help them drift off, the tracks on the album have been scientifically engineered to lull the listener to sleep.

All three tracks are 7 minutes long; the time it takes us to fall into the alpha sleep state, before heading into a deeper sleep after around 20 minutes. Recorded in a Currys PC World store in Staples Corner, London, using a combination of traditional microphones and special recording devices, the tracks are composed entirely of the operational sounds from tech found around the house; mixed together to create soothing white noise soundscapes that help our brains switch off.

The three tracks on the album, titled ‘Kitchen’, ‘Living Room’ and ‘Home Office’ correspond to the type of tech recorded to produce the soundscapes that are usually found in those rooms around the house. For example, ‘Kitchen’ features the sounds of microwaves and dishwashers, whilst ‘Living Room’ features TVs and speakers. The tracks on the album use Binaural and Isochronic frequencies, to create an audio illusion of a steady slower pulsation that moves the brain state from Alpha to Theta simulation, to aid deep relaxation. Additionally, repetitive rhythms of unsynchronised layered sounds have been crafted so that they slow down over time, and in term lower the resting heart rate. 

Says Hope Bastine, Sleep Expert: 

“2020 has been a remarkably stressful year for everyone, and with these changes to our schedules and boundaries in our work and home lives, we have seen increasing disruption to our sleep patterns. The tracks on the album are made up of white noise, which is a calming and repetitious sound and allows the brain to enter the alpha brain wave, a relaxing pre-sleep state. Research shows that when we play these types of sounds, we fall asleep much quicker.”

Adds Karl Sadler, Founder of Obelisk music:

“The album we have created isn’t made up of regular music tracks that you might listen to on a radio. These are soundscapes, to help the imagination dream of relaxing spaces when we are falling asleep. The home tech has been recorded at very low frequencies, which creates a repetitious, humming abstract sound, that we hope helps people to settle down, switch off, and have a good night’s sleep.”

Currys PC World’s study into the nation’s sleeping habits reveals the UK is currently being starved of a good night’s sleep. A third (29%) of Brits admit they are not getting enough sleep and feel exhausted throughout the day, and almost three quarters (71%) of the population would like to get more sleep each night. Currently, Brits are, on average, getting 6 ½ hours a night, and a fifth (18%) only 3-5 hours, when they should be getting 7 ½ – 9 ½ hours.

The data also reveals other interesting insights into how we’re sleeping. The 35-44-year-old age category are the most sleep-deprived with 81% of them saying they want to sleep more each night.  And in their quest to catch up on sleep, Brits admit to nodding off in strange places, including on public transport (27%), at the theatre or cinema (22%) and ‘on the floor’ (12%). 1 in 10 (10%) have fallen asleep on the toilet and nearly 1 in 10 (8%) have caught forty winks in a pub.

The album has been recorded so that it can be listened to on headphones, and a range of speaker sizes from smartphones to soundbars, all available at Currys PC World.