P.M. Relax FastShots

After a full day of going to the gym, running around drinking energy drinks, taking care of kids, working my cubicled office space like it was on fire, and general life out of balance , sometimes it is nice to find a way to relax and unwind that does not involve a trip to the local liquor store. I mean, sure, an ice cold beer or glass of good red wine does wonders to calm the nerves. But there are lots of times in life where having a nice relaxing cocktail is very unwise, and other ways of taking the stress off are not appropriate in pleasant company.

Usually, relaxing and falling asleep is not that hard for me. I mean, that what they make news shows on PBS for. I dare anyone to sit through a broadcast of "Charlie Rose" and not be sawing logs before the end of the show. This Old House was made for putting people in alpha state hypnosis. If neither is available, anyone not suffering through hoarding syndrome can always be put right to sleep by 10 minutes of QVC (the shopping channel).

Still, there come a time when you need that extra oomph to get you to mellow, like after taxes or doing accounting for your work or having a particularly hard time with that day's crossword puzzle, and a nice pick -me-down is what is needed. In steps Nutritionist tot he stars, Oz Garcia, and his mesmerizing buzz phrases to get you snoring in no time. I DARE YOU to read the next paragraph and not be put into a stupor.

"Dr. Garcia is one of the world's leading authorities on progressive nutrition and anti-aging and author of the book Look and Feel Fabulous Forever. He worked with AriZona Beverages to formulate the P.M Relax FastShots to target the metabolic pathways and create the optimal balance and performance to work together on a cellular level. P.M. Relax FastShot, a GABA infused product, is designed to work synergistically together as an allday supplement.

OK SO What the hell did I just say?? Metabolic pathways? Synergisticallly designed? Anti-Aging? my cellular level is performing badly? WHA??? Snoooore. See? Even just reading about this product is enough to put your mind in a stupor. let alone the ingredient list.

Anti-buzz:8
I am not worried that much about the things I put in my own body. I mean, sure, I am not going to suck down any sample I get without looking at the ingredients - but I am not too concerned about how well I process over the counter dietary supplements. However, Is it safe for my little eight year old insomniac child? I hate giving my kids sleeping meds, but sometimes the glass of warm milk really does not cut it. I flat out refuse to give them senna or melatonin, as that can be very dangerous. And be it as it may, the haven't encountered words like' synergistic' and 'metabolic pathways' to put them under.
And I don't know about you, but entertaining a youngster at 3AM jumping on your bed and wanting you to sit through yet another episode of Wow Wow Wubsy is anything short of a stress meltdown. So I pulled out one of these shots to see what was in store for my kid this night - and if it was safe enough for her to take and not get in trouble with the CDC.
To start off, there is the regular ingredients, like peach flavor and green tea - nothing off putting there. Vitamin B is safe, as well as small doses of inositol, Magnesium, and Zinc. There is some Woo Science stuff in here, things which are harmless, such as antioxidants, reservatrol and Wild Oat Extract. SO what in here makes you sleepy? The three relaxers in here are Chamomile, Theanine and GABA. I approve of the chamomile - nothing wrong there. Theanine is used by a number of energy drinks to keep that jittery feeling away - some parents even use L-theanine as an alternative to Ritalin for kids with mild ADHD.

Basically, this is a pretty mild relaxation shot: safe and full of ineffective ingredients. However, there are a few nice things and the placeo effect was enough that my middle child swore that these were the best thing in the universe to help him relax and fall asleep.

Taste:9
These were easy to drink and delicious enough to disappear from my house at a rapid rate. It seemed everyone had a hard time going to sleep while these shots were in the house. And, everyone seemed to recover from their bouts of insomnia when they were used all up too!

These tasted quite a bit like tea, only with a whole lot of peach and honey mixed in. You could taste enough of the herbs to make it taste like there was something more to this than just some yummy peach tea. The flavor is complex and delicious - enouh that I wish I had more of these int the house now...

Packaging:9
The bottle is about what you would expect from ariZona, by which I mean a designers dream. Covered in blues and purples, this is really well done. They list all their special herbs and spices, have a bit about how this will turn you 30 years younger and help you drift peacefully into dreamland. They even use a new technique to keep the minerals inside nice, called, MonOxbar® oxygen scavenging technology.

For all of the Woo Scence claims of Dr. Oz, and all the non-sleepify-ing ingredients in here - about two dozen or so shots were consumed in about 3 days in our house by my kids and some friends. I know at least around my circle of friends and family, these little shots have some new die hard fans.