What School Students say about Pocketnap...

Over the past 6 months, with the kind assistance of Success Integrated, Cocoon has been trialed in a number of secondary schools across Victoria. Here's what some of the students who have tried it say:

" After using the Pocketnap I felt more relaxed, energised and when studying I could absorb more information...  study for longer.  My mind felt clear and I could focus more on my homework and study... I would love to use it again because it only takes a short amount of time and it is a quick and easy way to re-energise...  I would like to say thank you for the Pocketnap and I will continue to use it."  Melissa Nicolaou, Our Lady of Mercy College Year 11

"I first used it before going to bed. I found it made me feel very relaxed. Another time I used it was about an hour after homework, I found I couldn't focus anymore so I listened to the Pocketnap and found it made me very relaxed and that I was able to concentrate and absorb more." Bec N, Princes Hill Secondary College, Year 12

"I've really enjoyed Pocketnap in the way that it's helped me relax far more easily than it normally is for me, and after finishing listening to it I feel slightly more energised and refreshed, and ready to continue with my homework. Pocketnap has helped me stay motivated, and I would be more than willing to use it time after time to help me keep refreshed. Thanks, Georgina, for giving me the opportunity to listen to Pocketnap." Joseph Mckee, St Patrick’s College, Ballarat Year 12

5 Steps to Simple Pain Relief

I recently learned of a quick technique for pain relief which intrigued me. This is something that can be used for physical as well as emotional pain - and it may be interesting to note the connection between the two. Have you ever noticed how much more sensitive you can become to physical pain when you are feeling emotionally fragile or distressed?

Or what about distracting yourself from pain by watching a movie only to find at the end of the movie the pain is there again? Where did the pain go during the movie, then? Maybe it was being usurped by a more pleasurable stimulus (the movie) or your attention was simply focussed elsewhere. It seems like a clever trick the brain can perform, which we could utilise. 

It is important to note that physical pain is a warning sign to the body. It is vital then that appropriate medical advice is sought before using any natural pain reduction methods. If, however, it is medically safe to partially or totally reduce the pain then you may want to try this out for yourself.

Before you begin, give the emotional or physical pain a rating on a scale of 0 - 10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is extreme. Jot down the number.

1. Focus your awareness on the physical/ emotional pain and imagine it as a shape. 

2. Now draw an ‘outline’ around the shape in your mind.

3. Once the outline is established, expand the outline so that you allow more space around the pain/shape. Give it lots of room.

Now re-rate the pain from 0 - 10.

4. Imagine now a ‘mini-you’ located between the eyebrows looking down on the shape with all the space around it.

Rate it again, where is it on the scale from 0 - 10?

5. Now imagine another ‘mini-you’ floating above you looking down through the eyes of the ‘mini-you’ located between the eyebrows looking down on the shape with all the space around it.

Rate it again.

It is quite a phenomenal process, although very simple. I used it in a simple yoga stretch to test it out and it worked beautifully.

I’d love to hear what your experience of this is, so if you try it, please leave a comment.

Can Stress Really Kill You?

"Three 10-year studies concluded that emotional stress was more predictive of death from cancer and cardiovascular disease than smoking; people who were unable to effectively manage their stress had a 40% higher death rate than more emotionally managed individuals."

(H. Eyesenck. Br. J. Med. Psychol., 1998)

In later posts we'll look at what stress does to the digestive, immune, nervous and hormonal systems. 

In the meantime, stay calm!

Why are two sleeps better than one?

Did you know that scientific research has confirmed “We’re designed to have two sleeps a day - a big one at night and a small one in the afternoon,” says Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, UK.

Churchill, Da Vinci, Bonaparte, Edison, Brahms, Einstein, Roosevelt and Clinton were all hip to the nap. Churchill regularly catnapped in the afternoon, even throughout the war, so that he could get two days in one. Later he wrote, ‘Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. ‘

It’s a natural way to make the most of our time and energy, by giving ourselves some time to rest, regenerate and consolidate.

Researchers at NASA have found that “an afternoon nap increases productivity by 35% and decision making ability by up to 50%” and strategic napping has been shown to improve alertness, productivity, and mood (Dinges and Broughton 1989; Takahashi and Arito 2000).

But most of us don’t have space for a hammock let alone a nap room at work for a daily zonk and if you don’t fancy flaking out under the chair, drooling into your keyboard, or snoozing in the loo (as some workers are reported to do) how do you get all the benefits of a midday rest?

Try POCKETNAP