In approximately four months, I have a 270-mile bike ride across three states that I’ll be riding. What a lucky coincidence that I would find Pzizz, a “tech tool to energize athletes.” I love tech, and while I’m hardly an athlete per se, I’ll take all the help I can get.
Pzizz is basically a white noise generator. However, instead of making static noise or repetitive nature noises (you know, the squawking birds in nature sounds or the babbling brook), the program generates soundtracks filled with a varying combination of ambient sounds with soothing voice over giving you gentle instructions. Everything about the soundtracks is engineered to help you disconnect from your surroundings and maximally relax you. Sounds range from chimes and synthesized notes, string instrument harmonies, and even a few of those nature noises. None of the sounds are overtly displeasing or annoying, though you’ll probably grow to like some sounds more than others. One of the coolest effects I noticed was a string orchestra gradually crescendo-ing in the background as the voice over started to tell me to prepare to wake up from my nap.
The voice over is probably the weirdest part of the entire program, and the one the people are most likely to disagree with. The voice is a deep man’s voice who tells you to “Be as comfortable as possible, both physically and mentally,” and then that “For a few minutes, I’ll guide you while you begin to relax, but then just let my voice fade into the background.” I listened to the “Sleep” track for several nights.
I’m not going to lie, it was slightly strange having some random man talk to me as I was trying to fall asleep, but as I became accustomed to it, it stopped bothering me. While I didn’t notice a drastic increase in my energy levels in the morning, I snoozed fewer times than I normally do when I woke up, and falling asleep seemed to happen rather quickly, despite the fact that I typically fall sleep in silence.
The software comes with three modules: sleep, energize, and meditate. The sleep module is, aptly enough, for helping you to fall into a deep sleep. The energize module builds shorter programs meant to guide you through a power nap, complete with a beeping alarm at the end of the track should you not arouse and the end of the allotted time. The meditate module is silent, save for a single chime at minute intervals of your choosing. The volume of the music and voiceover are customizable depending on your tastes, which is nice for anyone who dislikes the voice over, as well as the length of the tracks.
Also useful is the program’s ability to export your tracks to iTunes in the AAC format via a single click to take with you on your iPod. While napping in public scares me and my boss tends to frown on me sleeping at my desk during the day, this is certainly useful for those who can get away with either.
The company makes many scientific claims (“induces theta sleep waves”), and though I couldn’t find anything to back them up, maybe it’s just the scientist in me complaining. ‚ All in all, Pzizz is a simple, easy to use sound generator that will help you to focus on relaxing and restoring your energy.
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