As many of you know, I’ve been using pzizz for quite a while, so I thought I’d write up my opinion about the program. For those who don’t know, pzizz is “napping software,” a computer program available for Win and Mac that helps you fall asleep (for naps or at night).
The idea is that our technology-driven culture is causing a great deal of sleep deprivation, bringing tiredness and lack of focus at home or in the workplace. The concept of pzizz is to use technology to reverse this problem.
Pzizz simply plays audio tracks that “supercharge” daytime powernaps or help you fall asleep faster at night.
Samples
There’s a lot of information on how pzizz works at their website. Pzizz technology throws in various elements like binaural beats and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Instead of explaining how it all comes together, why not listen to a sample instead?
Pzizz intro
This is how pzizz nap tracks begin. You can turn the voice on or off. I like it on.
Pzizz middle
This is what a pzizz track will play once you’re asleep. Your subconscious will pick up on the binaural beats.
Pzizz end (the alarm)
This is the end of a nap track. It’s different than a normal alarm, but it wakes me up every time.
Those were just some examples, but each time Pzizz generates an audio track it is slightly different.
Who is Pzizz For?
Pzizz is helpful for:
- People with a 9-5 office job. A 20-minute power nap after lunch is the perfect way to boost productivity or (more importantly) give you the extra juice you need to stay sane throughout the day.
- Religious nappers who would like to use technology to improve nap quality.
- People looking for ways to fall asleep faster at night.
Energizer vs Sleep Modules
If you look at the pzizz website you’ll notice that there are two different “modules” available. I don’t think “module” is a very good word for it, so I’ll describe it in my own terms in case you’re confused.
There’s only one program that pzizz offers, and that’s pzizz.
Once you have the software on your computer, you can unlock the “energizer module” or the “sleep module” by purchasing them from the pzizz website.
- The energizer module is for daytime naps.
- The sleep module is for falling asleep at night.
So to keep it simple, if you want to use pzizz for power naps during the day, get the energizer module. If you need help falling asleep at night get the sleep module. Or get both.
Update: As of July 2008, pzizz has added a free meditation module. Cool!
Other Features
My different pzizz tracks. I mostly use the energizer naps... as you can see I have 3 custom energizer naps set up, each for different nap lengths.
You can customize nap length, voice, stereo effects, etc.
The most common way to use pzizz is to put on a pair of good headphones and doze off. If you’re using an energizer power nap, then pzizz will wake you up automatically with an alarm.
Other ways to use pzizz:
- Use iTunes. Pzizz allows you to export all of your tracks to iTunes. Some people prefer using iTunes since that’s where all their music is located anyway
- iPod or CD. Pzizz also lets you export tracks to mp3, which you can burn onto a CD or download to your mp3 player. I have loads of tracks on my iPod. In fact, every pzizz nap I take is with my iPod and headphones. This is the perfect solution if you’re on-the-go and need naps in school libraries, workplaces, or public parks.
What I’ve Learned From Using Pzizz for One Year
I’ve used pzizz for over a year, nearly every day, in fact. Here’s some things I’ve learned:
- Pzizz gets more effective the more you use it.
- Naps with pzizz are noticably different than naps without pzizz.
- 1-3pm is my ideal nap time. Everyone’s circadian rhythm runs differently, so it’s important to find your own optimal napping hours.
- Naps almost become addicting. You feel like a completely different person after a power nap, and I think you almost get addicted to that feeling. This might explain why so many pzizzers are long-term users.
- High quality headphones aren’t necessary, but they improve the experience.
- Noise-cancelling headphones help with noisey areas.
- Noise-cancelling headphones are awesome in general.
And the most important thing I’ve learned is….
- Napping is a skill.
It’s not a difficult skill, but it’s a skill. I’ve somehow developed the uncanny ability to nap anytime, anywhere, even if my mind is buzzing with stressful thoughts. This is a useful skill to have, but you have to make napping a habit to develop it.
Download Pzizz
I recommend at least the energizer module (which allows for naps). I also use the sleep module if I need help falling asleep at night, but the energizer module is really where the bread and butter of pzizz lies.
[...] it. Well, I have’t tried it (yet), but I will say this: our bodies are wired to nap. Take an energizer nap when you can (typically in the afternoon), not just because Grok did, but because it feels good and [...]
Hi I have used pzizz for a few days to take energizer naps but I have been confuse on one thing. And the thing is how come we can doze of with so much sound that pzizz randomly produces. When I am at the verge of sleeping pzizz gives a ding sound and I wake up. How the hell it helps us in taking a nap. Should I keep the volume VERY low? But if I should then wehats the point of all these random sounds PLease explain. I would appreciate your help.
Hi waqar,
Those are great questions, and definitely common ones for new pzizz users.
I’ve found that playing around with volume levels (voice, music, and overall) helps. I prefer about 60% voice, 100% volume, and fairly low overall volume on my headphones. That way the sounds tend to play on my subconscious and aren’t distracting to the sleep process — or at least it feels that way.
Second, I’ve noticed that with power naps I often have sleep state misperception (STM). STM is when you think you’re awake but you’re actually in stage 1 or stage 2 sleep. You can actually be quite conscious during light stages of sleep and it still counts as sleep. You’ll often notice that at the end of a pzizz track you’ll wake up from STM and think “oh, wow, I guess I *was* asleep”.
STM is not a bad thing. It’s meditative. It feels great. It’s perfectly rejuvenating. In fact, if I go several days without a half-conscious power nap, I know that I’m not getting enough sleep at night.
So the way I see pzizz is as a true mid-day energizer. You might just meditate for 20 minutes, you might go half-conscious in stage 1 and 2 sleep, or you might truly drop into sleep — all of those situations I’ve found to be revitalizing.
I would also recommend playing around with nap lengths. Sometimes I do a 35 minute power nap because I know I’ll spend 10 or so minutes in meditation before drifting to sleep.
Aside from that I would just play around with the various options until you find what works for you.
Mid-day breaks and naps are cornerstones of highly creative individuals, so I think it’s worth the effort to develop the skill even if it takes some testing and tweaking. Pzizz has been very helpful for me in developing that skill, but there are also other options you can explore — classical music, earplugs, or simply foregoing the auditory component altogether and just plopping down for some shut-eye.
Hello Sleep Warior, I happened upon your eBook by sheer chance. This Pzizz gizmo stood out and I felt it calling so I went ahead and purchased it after trying out a short demo.
Ok here is some history…..
I have been suffering from stress related headaches for several months now on and off. This is owing to long work hours at home running my own companies and then trying to balance that with my lifestyle.
Up until 2 months ago (I got married) I was steadfast with a solid diet and proactive at the gym 5 days a week. Since I tied the knot everything health-wise was put to the back burner but that was a mistake I shouldn’t have done. My health went downhill, muscle mass went down sharply and my body fat increased exponentially.
I guess that just added to my stress and confounded my headaches. They were the “more annoying” types than the painful ones. Notice I used past tense?
Yup…Headaches gone. Woosh, just like that. I’m er still trying to get my head around this one? Any ideas what happened oh wise one?
All I did was try Pzizz 3 times today. I did some energizer and some sleep.
Ross can you tell us the duration of energizer you used. I personally think you used to have headaches due to lack of sleep and (multiple) naps are a great alternative to it. Thats why the energizers helped you alot. My guess is that your answers lie in the articles related to “how to have more energy”. You should join the newsletter list. They are very interesting.