Head in the Game by Brandon Sneed
Author:Brandon Sneed [Sneed, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-23T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 11
A Delightful Hijacking
While the neurosignaling promises of Thync and Halo might ring somewhat hollow, there is something else, NuCalm, that also uses electric stim, though as one part of a larger system designed to thrust someone into a deep state of what could be described as forced meditation . . . on steroids.
The NuCalm system consists of a protein supplement, electric stim, light-blocking eye mask, and noise-canceling headphones playing proprietary âneuroacousticâ software. It was first introduced to the world of sports about five years ago, in a back room at a dentistâs office just outside of Chicago.
In the summer of 2012, sitting in a room at the offices of periodontist Dr. Paul J. Denemark, Chicago Blackhawks head trainer Mike Gapski was getting on David Pooleâs nerves.
Poole was trying to tell Gapski about NuCalm. Gapski called him a couple days earlier asking all kinds of questions about NuCalm after Denemark told Gapski he should consider using it on his hockey players (Denemark used it on his dental-phobic patients with almost perfect success). But now that they were in the room together, Gapski kept huffing and grunting nonreplies and glancing at his watch, like he had a million better places to be.
Gee, sorry to waste your time, Poole thought.
Finally Poole said to Gapski, âYou know what, talk is cheap. Letâs just do it. You have time?â
Eh, yeah, guess so.
âI wonât keep you longâ no longer than you want to stay.â
Gapski said all right, and Poole set him up. Sit in this chair, get comfy. Take this cream, itâs a protein supplement thing, Iâll explain later, just rub it up and down each carotid artery, yep. Now these are neurostimulation patches, stick them behind your ears. This thing Iâm plugging them into, thatâs a cranial electric-stimulation device. Donât worry, we use so little powerâ like, 0.1 milliampsâ that you wonât even feel it on your skin. Now take this eye mask, get it around your head. Now put these headphones on, theyâre wireless, over the ear, block out all sound, and theyâll play ourâ well, weâll talk about that later, too. If you want. If you have the time. Okay, all set? Music on? Now just pop on that eye mask and let me know when youâre ready to quit. Whenever youâre out of time.
Ten minutes went by.
Then twenty.
Then forty. Gapski seemed unconscious. Thatâs when Poole knew Gapski mustâve been really stressed. The more stressed or anxious someone is, the more strongly NuCalm affects them.
At fifty minutes, Poole tugged the earphones away and asked Gapski how he felt.
âI feel good,â Gapski said, slipping off the eye mask. âWhy? Whatâs going on?â
âHow long you think youâve been in?â
âI donât know. Ten minutes?â
âItâs been fifty-one minutes, Mike.â
Gapski gave Poole a look that said, Youâre crazy. Then he looked at his watch. He stood up. âOkay. What the hell. Now you have my attention.â
Pooleâs tone is rapid and excited as he tells me this story early last year in his thick Boston accent. âMike was cooked,â Poole says.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Tip Top by Bill James(1002)
Three-Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman(720)
1312, Among the Ultras by James Montague(585)
Like Streams to the Ocean by Jedidiah Jenkins(521)
One Life by Megan Rapinoe & Emma Brockes(519)
Don Cherry's Hockey Stories and Stuff by Don Cherry(496)
Bruce Lee by John Little(481)
Crossroads by Kaleb Dahlgren(467)
The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict(448)
On Learning Golf by Percy Boomer(437)
The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost(423)
Maradona: The Boy. The Rebel. The God. by Guillem Balagué(417)
Bravey by Alexi Pappas(390)
The Pocket Samurai by William Scott Wilson(381)
Running Back in Time: Discovering the Formula to Beat the Aging Process and Get Younger (Younger Than Ever Book 2) by Gilkis Dr. Zeev(341)
The Tai Chi Space: How to Move in Tai Chi and Qi Gong (A Pictorial Guide) by Paul Cavel(341)
Powerbuilding Breakdowns by Josh Bryant & Adam benShea(337)
My Life in Red and White by Arsene Wenger(334)
Breathe by Rickson Gracie(331)