I had a chance recently to take Pzizz for a spin, or should I say, a nap. Pzizz is a software application (for MacOS and WIndows) that generates randomized audio files that are composed of specially designed music, with binaural beats and a ‘magic’ ingredient: an NLP-based voice track. It currently comes with 2 modules: nap (or energizer) and sleep. Pzizz claims to help you take naps that leave you feeling more refreshed than an unaided one.
The first test I ran was to generate a 20 minute nap, copy over the mp3 (or wav) file to my Sansa, and then put on some headphones to see what happened. At first, the voice was very distracting, and I found myself being unable to fall sleep. But the combination of the music and the narrator putting my mind at ease put me to sleep in about 10 minutes. As this wasn’t an ideal 20 minute nap, I tried it again the next day. This time around, I was probably out in less than 1 minute easily. The result? Let me compare it with times when I’ve taken 20 minute naps without any kind of aid except for an alarm. I’ve found it hard to get to sleep within 5 mins despite how tired I may feel, and then waking up after 20 mins is very difficult. With Pzizz, I fell asleep faster and woke up easier, and became fully alert in a much shorter time.
For the sleep module, I experienced a similar effect. My problem with it was that I (and many others) don’t sleep in one position all night, and wearing headphones isn’t something you want to do. This means that you will lose the benefits of the binaural effects playing the file over speakers. About the only other thing that I wanted to change with Pzizz was that the alarm came on too loudly and abruptly; I would have preferred something more gradual in volume.
I should note that Pzizz isn’t just a one button application. You can customize the audio files in the following ways: the length of the audio files (i.e. your naps); how loud the voice and music tracks are; if the voice track is played throughout, only at the start and end, or not at all; the delay on the alarm.
How it works. As mentioned above, Pzizz combines NLP-based narration, music and binaural beats to create their audio files. NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is a psychotherapy approach based mainly on the use of language to achieve different results. While that sounds a bit scary, basic NLP techniques involve little more than changing your everyday words. The binaural beats induce theta brainwaves which are predominant in REM sleep. You can read more about how it all works on Pzizz’s website.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised that Pzizz worked as well as it did. Although some may claim that $50 is a bit pricey for both energizer and sleep modules ($30 each), I contend that if you can improve your productivity with a 20 minute nap every day, then Pzizz will quickly pay for itself. Do yourself a favor and at least try out the samples that Pzizz offers freely on their website.