Like I said I planned in a previous entry (Day 1), I tried the 10-7 post-shift relaxing supplement.
It's mechanism is much exactly as the others: three sprays under your tongue, hold for a 10 count, swallow, go on with your day. There will not be a time post on this entry, I hope it'll be apparent why.
Taste
The company's product information gives me the inferrence that they spent a painstaking time on developing the formula and taste. It's almost as if they opted for the subtle rather than hoping that a small photo of cartoon berries will sway my tastebuds one way or the other. (By the way, who ever decided that it was OK to combine the lightning bolt image with "refreshing?")
In my few travels to various tradeshows and events I've learned a few unique things. In one instance my publisher had called me over to meet a long-time contact and friend of his. I'm not sure how the discussion got onto the topic but he informed me that vitamin B-12 ONLY has ANY effect on you if you let it slowly absorb under your tongue for a period of time. That my morning multi-vitimin wasn't able to do it's full job.
Like I've said before - guess where 7 Innovation directs you to "drink" their invention?
To this I say the taste was negligible. If you take a multi-vitamin and wash it down with water you know what these taste like. I don't think you'll be anticipating the intake, salivating for it like Charlie's fried-chicken down the street or fresh-baked bakery, but I also do not believe you'll be dreading it either.
So taste: there's not much afterwards, it's a very short period and not to mention it's not being applied to your tastebuds. If there was a scale, it's be smack-dab in the middle.
Did I relax?
I recreated the Riot experiment: took it the very same time as before and then 10-7 at 5 p.m. This is effectively my "post-shift." My typical evening is much like anyone else working a desk-job: get home, stop thinking about work, dinner, life, sleep.
I did find something interesting: transition time from my "work" focus to "home" focus was easier. For most I'd imagine there's a physical change from work to home - a commute, a short walk, perhaps a change of clothes. I felt I was able to keep my focus and make this transition without this physical change. All-the-while, however, avoiding the mental "overwhelmed" feeling of not having taken a break.
Was this the relaxing part? (I did appreciate it.) I'll be honest, home is work you're not paid for. If you don't give yourself a moment and switch your mindset, there's a bogged-down feeling. I found this helped me make that switch quick and avoid that feeling.
Now I'd imagine you could take this and continue on-shift; perhaps you might not need to take down that charging rhino, but need to make sure your t's are crossed and lower-case j's are dotted. A supplement like this might be something to look into further.
The evening wound-down, at this point I didn't know what I was expecting: some sort of euphoria? (There wasn't one.) The next morning came my answer. I realized that I was still able to sleep at night. Up until I closed my eyes, I remembered I felt that my mind was still sharp then and not groggy, I believed I could have done some last minute work without making the "no coffee mistakes."
