yawning can help battle stress
You’re probably familiar with the situation; you’re sitting in a waiting room, watching the clock. The person sitting across from you yawns and, as if on cue, you also yawn.
Yawning typically signifies tiredness or boredom, yet researchers in Britain have proved otherwise. In fact, “contagious” yawning, that is, yawning after you see someone else yawn, is a sign of empathy.
Back in the day of cave dwellers and nomadic hunters, yawning was a way to raise alertness, as it increased the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. Scientists think yawning developed into a warning signal, as if a yawn meant to wake up and watch for danger. Yawning was a survival skill.
Nowadays, yawning typically happens after a night with too-little sleep, in a long meeting, or while waiting, yet the contagious yawn still is a warning to wake up. Instead of being used as a warning for possible trouble ahead, yawning is used to silently empathize with your neighbor.
Boulder, Colorado—an innovative company has taken one of life’s most unpleasant experiences (being startled awake by your alarm clock early Monday morning), and transformed it into something to actually look forward to. “The Zen Alarm Clock,” uses soothing acoustic chimes that awaken users gently and gradually, making waking up a real pleasure. Rather than an artificial recorded sound played through a speaker, the Zen Clock features an alloy chime bar similar to a wind chime. When the clock’s alarm is triggered, its chime produces a long-resonating, beautiful acoustic tone reminiscent of a temple gong. Then, as the ring tone gradually fades away, the clock remains silent until it automatically strikes again three minutes later. The frequency of the chime strikes gradually increase over ten-minutes, eventually striking every five seconds, so they are guaranteed to wake up even the heaviest sleeper. This gentle, ten-minute “progressive awakening” leaves users feeling less groggy, and even helps with dream recall.
adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, Oct. 2011
soothing, elegant chime alarm clocks, with real acoustic sounds
Now & Zen’s Alarm Clock Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(800) 779-6383
Posted in Chime Alarm Clocks, sleep
