1011Lifestyle and eating habitsIf many facets of a student' social life are dictated by where they live, then the slow but steady rise in the number who are choosing to stay at home is surely having an impact. This year the number living with their parents or other family members rose again, albeit by a small margin, from 17% in 2010 to 18% in 2012. The proportion in 2008 was 13%. It was noticeable that these students were far more likely than those in other types of accommodation to be living quiet lives - just 28% said they were going out more than they had been the year before, compared to 55% of those living in catered halls. Overall, students were most likely to say that the majority of their socialising was done in their rooms, flats or houses, rather than in town on in other university venues. Of those who did prefer to go out and about, more chose bars, clubs and cafes off campus (26% did) than on-campus venues (which were favoured by just 14%). Asked to describe a typical weekday, it was clear that today's students remain very conscientious, with over three quarters saying lectures, seminars and lab work accounted for between two and five hours a day (78% did, up from 77% in 2010), and one in 10 reporting that they had between six and 10 hours of formal learning a day. There were, of course, significant differences by discipline, with medics having the most hours (almost two thirds had between five and nine). Private study was another key activity, with 71% of students working on their own for another two to five hours a day. With so much time spent on their academic work, students found less time for socialising, with just over one in 10 (12%) saying they now socialise for over five hours a day, far less than the 33% who did so in 2006 and the 16% who did so in 2010. What is more, some 14% report that they spend no time at all socialising in an average weekday, while almost half (43%) play no sport or exercise.Most students have to spend part of their day travelling to lectures, while the majority (54%) spend up to an hour a day in transit. With computers playing such an important role in modern life, there was a lot of ground to cover when assessing students' online activities. 43% play no sport or exercise2010200633%200815%201016%201212%Students socialising for over five hours a day

1011The findings underline the dominance of social media sites, with half of all students saying that they spend seven or more hours a week logged on to sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Fewer than one in 10 spend no time at all on such sites in a typical week. Undergraduates also use their computers to study online, but not as often as one might expect, with less than one in four (22%) saying they study on the internet for over 10 hours a week. This is increasing over time, however, with the corresponding figure just 12% in 2008. There is a general lack of enthusiasm for online lectures, with the vast majority still choosing to attend in person (93% usually do) rather than remotely.The survey shows that most students are also content with the amount of contact time they have with their tutors - 58% said they were, the same figure as in 2010, although there were significant variations between subjects, with those in the arts and humanities much less likely to be satisfied than those studying science and engineering. Looking at non-academic matters, the survey finds that far more students skip certain meals than they should, with around one in 10 never eating breakfast and less than half (43%) eating it every day. Almost half also miss lunch at least once a week (45% do). When they do eat their meals, the majority of students prepare their food themselves, with 67% cooking their own dinner. However, the rise in the number living at home has resulted in an increase in the proportion who eat meals provided by their parents, with almost a fifth saying that they eat breakfast at home, and just over a fifth doing so at dinner time. Half of students said they had changed their diet because of financial pressures, and of these almost two thirds said their diet was less healthy as a result. Finally, a survey of student lifestyles would not be complete without an assessment of their drinking habits. However, the study suggests that the picture of binge drinking so often put about is wide of the mark, with most (52%) drinking less than four and a half pints of beer each week, and a quarter apparently not drinking at all. Such abstinence is not for everyone, though, and a small minority (1%) claimed to drink over 20 pints a week, while first years were also more likely to drink heavily, with 18% drinking over 16 units a week, compared to 12% of those in their second year.exercise20102012Hours spent on social network sitesNone - 11% 1-3 hrs - 28% 4-6 hrs - 16%7-10 hrs - 20%11-20 hrs - 14% 20 or more hrs - 11% None - 7% 1-3 hrs - 27% 4-6 hrs - 17% 7-10 hrs - 20% 11-20 hrs - 20% 20 or more hrs - 15% "More course demands, more motivated to do well in my degree now that it counts"