I Hacked My Nervous System With Apollo to Get Better Sleep, Deeper Meditation, and Less Stress

Are your wrists as piled up with fitness watches as mine are? Well, make some room. Apollo Neuro ($349) straps around your wrist like an Apple Watch or Fitbit, but it’s not there to count your steps or measure your heart rate. It’s a “wearable wellness device for stress relief,” according to the brand’s website, aka it’s here to help with your mental health, not your calorie burn. As a fitness device fanatic myself, I was intrigued when Apollo offered me a band to try. I’ve been wearing Apollo for two months now; here’s my review.

What Is Apollo Neuro?

Apollo Neuro is a wearable wellness device for stress relief, but what does that mean? This band uses a form of “touch therapy,” the brand told POPSUGAR, “felt as gentle waves of vibration.” You wear it on the inside of your wrist or ankle and it buzzes against your skin in patterns meant to stimulate your nervous system in different ways. Via a Bluetooth app on your phone, you can choose vibration modes like:

• Energy and Wake Up
• Social and Open
• Clear and Focused
• Rebuild and Recover
• Meditation and Mindfulness
• Relax and Unwind
• Sleep and Renew

You then choose the length of time and intensity of the vibration.

Each vibration pattern is different. The Energy and Wake Up setting, for example, is stronger and faster than, say, the Sleep and Renew or the Relax and Unwind modes. “Apollo’s modes are organized based on the science of how our body responds to Apollo vibrations, Apollo trials in the lab, and the experiences of our users,” the brand said. The vibration frequencies work by increasing or decreasing activity in your nervous system, which helps to change your energy level. “Modes designed for rest and relaxation contain more slow-moving, gentle frequencies known to increase parasympathetic activity, the branch of your nervous system that is activated when you meditate, deep breathe, and sleep,” the brand says on its website. “Modes for energy contain vibration frequencies known in the literature to increase heart rate and blood flow for increased energy and alertness.”