August 5, 2023
What if I told you you could put on this little vibrating thing, and it could shift your focus, your mood, your sleep, and your recovery near instantaneously, without taking any drugs or supplements?
It exists, and I've been strapping it on for years.
Apollo Neuro, an ingenious wearable device that comfortably fits onto your wrist or ankle or clips to your clothing, is the result of an innovative blend of ancient haptic, vibration, and touch therapy techniques with the advancements of 21st-century science.
The brainchild of a team of leading neuroscientists and physicians, including co-founder Dr. Dave Rabin, MD, Ph.D., Apollo is much more than just another piece of wearable tech. You may remember Dave from previous podcast episodes “A Whole New Way To Deal With Stress, Trauma & PTSD In Just Seconds: The First Clinically Validated Wearable That Helps You De-Stress, Focus, Sleep, Stay Energized & Remain Calm” and “The Future Of Healthcare, Wearables, AI, Plant Medicine & More With Dr. David Rabin & Dr. Joseph Maroon.” If you do, you’ll probably recall his riveting discussion about creating a natural way to help veterans with treatment-resistant PTSD feel safe—without the need for drugs or chemical-based approaches.
Dave's research has provided the foundation for Apollo Neuroscience, a company he co-founded in 2017 alongside his CEO wife, Kathryn Fantauzzi. Apollo Neuroscience now offers the first scientifically-validated wearable technology that actively improves your health using a unique touch therapy that sends signals of safety to the brain. Users of Apollo report having more energy, improved focus, enhanced relaxation, and better sleep.
In addition to Apollo, Dave is also the co-founder and executive director of The Board of Medicine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to establishing peer-reviewed, evidence-based clinical guidelines for the production and safe use of currently unregulated alternative medicines, including plant medicines. The Board of Medicine provides training and certification to healthcare providers while setting quality control standards for complementary and alternative medicines, all to promote high-quality clinical research, best practices, and risk reduction.
Alongside his clinical psychiatry practice, Dave is actively conducting research on the epigenetic regulation of trauma responses and recovery. His focus is to shed light on the mechanism of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and the neurobiology of belief. His extensive research background includes earning his MD in medicine and a PhD in neuroscience from Albany Medical College and specializing in psychiatry with a distinction in research at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dave's dedication to pushing the boundaries of neuroscience and his commitment to developing effective alternative therapies make him a particularly fascinating guest to host. In this conversation, Dave and I delve into how Apollo Neuro works and the science that underpins it, explore his research on neurotransmitters, and discuss the intriguing field of MDMA therapy. So, if you're interested in new frontiers of human health, stress management, and well-being, listen up!
During our discussion, you'll discover:
- Previous podcast episode with Dr. David Rabin about the Apollo:
- The Apollo is a next-generation wearable (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- It doesn't track the body
- It improves the body’s well-being
- Apollo can work along side the app or completely independent of the phone
- Turns on automatically after you save your schedule to the device
- Regulates your circadian cycle for you
- Has an airplane mode so that you can turn off any EMF transmission while it is running
- Research started at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014
- Figured out how to compose music for the body, not for the ears
- Music calms us and clears our mind
- Apollo delivers that same benefits through touch
-Combining Apollo with music…13:33
- Pairing the vibratory sensations with actual audio sensations
- The goal is to create an ecosystem of health
- There are many tools that can help but the Apollo combined with music doubles the benefits
- Frequency of the Apollo matching the frequency of a certain soundtrack is coming soon
-The science behind Apollo…16:50
- Early research at the University of Pittsburgh
- How does music affect the body?
- Is that effect translatable to haptics and touch?
- Huge range of vibrations that you feel throughout your body 200 hertz and below
- We feel better than we hear
- Some rhythms increase people's awareness, clarity, wakefulness, and energy
- Other forms of music are commonly used for meditation and mindfulness practice
- Music has various impacts on the body
- Biofeedback – breath and breath exercises studies
- A meditative state starts between five and seven breaths per minute
- You can measure that effect through the skin with EKG
- Went another step further and measured
- Brainwaves through EEG
- Pupils
- Physical movements
- Sweat
- Put 20 patterns to 3 people and then gave them these really stressful exercises to do cognitively
- Asked them to rate the experience and measured the results
- 2 of 20 vibrations provided 25% better cognitive performance
- Increased HRV within only 3 minutes, directly correlated with the increase in cognitive performance
- Was able to develop a mathematical algorithm from that study
- The first vibes discovered –
- Energy
- Social
- Focus
- Power nap
- Recover
- Calm
- Unwind
- Fall asleep
- A second study on athletes discovered the Recover vibe
- Applied what was discovered on other vibes and tested them on 300 people for 2 years
- The difference between the vibes
- Speed
- Intensity
- Frequency and their modulation
- The differences are meant to be subtle, not distractive
-How was Apollo made so small?…27:33
- Fitbit
- Whoop
- At first, not a lot of small options
- Quite a challenge to find the right partner to do this kind of work
- Couple of years of searching
- Managed to find the small motor that delivered vibration patterns faithfully
- Sensate (use code BGL to save)
- Apollo can be used with a chest strap and clip
- Can also be worn anywhere on the body
- Wearing more than one
- It would be more immersive
- Working on an app to control more than one device
- Apollo costs $349 (use code BG15 to save 15%)
-The study of neurotransmitters and MDMA therapy…38:14
- Neurotransmitters are notoriously hard and expensive to study
- Denver VA is doing a very large PTSD study of Apollo and 100 military veterans with PTSD
- Published a paper showing that MDMA-assisted therapy appears to reverse some of the epigenetic trauma markers
- Traumatic events cause changes to our stress response, all the way down to epigenetics and cortisol receptors
- Three doses of MDMA in 12 weeks of psychotherapy in people with severe PTSD
- Reverses their symptoms
- Impacts the methylation of the cortisol receptor
- The trauma is stored in the body all the way down to our DNA and we can do things to repair it
- Studying that exact same phenomenon in the study at the Denver VA
- Apollo was heavily inspired by the understanding of how MDMA works in resolving trauma
-The Social mode in Apollo and MDMA therapy…41:21
- Ben’s experience with MDMA therapy
- Apollo was designed to work similarly (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- Social mode helps people feel safe in social situations
- Activates safety response to the touch receptors in our skin
- Transmits soothing vibrations to the emotional cortex of the brain
- MDMA is unnecessary
- Experimenting with Social mode
-Could Apollo detect the state you’re in and respond to it accordingly?…46:57
- Apollo came from the idea to help stress in the moment
- In early days – working with people in the labs, severe autism spectrum disorder and, and panic disorder
- Detected when those episodes were going to happen before becoming full-blown
- Training Apollo to detect sleep and help people get to sleep
- Apollo Labs – stay asleep feature; first AI feature for health
- Oura Ring
- The goal for the future – detect and learn during the day and night what you need to be your best self
- Wearable technology that's listening to you and providing what you need
- Connecting Apollo with Oura Ring and Apple Health
- Right now, Oura Ring and Apple Health data are used for research to build features
- Now delivering the first AI for decreasing disruptive sleep disturbances
- 9 out of 10 people complaining of insomnia in the U.S. experience poor sleep because they wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep
-The results of the sleep study…54:45
- Initial study of 582 people, eventually expanded to 1500
- People who have been using Apollo and Oura Ring for years
- On average, have been using Oura ring for eight months before receiving an Apollo
- Pre-Apollo baseline data
- Data after receiving an Apollo
- Just adding Apollo showed a statistically significant improvement in sleep
- Using Apollo 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, 45-90 days is a sweet spot
- Showed 30 minutes increase in deep sleep (19%) and REM sleep (14%)
- Decrease in resting heart rate and increase in HRV
- Ben’s Apollo power nap routine
- Adaptogens (reishi or ashwagandha)
- PEMF mat
- Hyperbaric chamber
- Muse headband (use code BENGREENFIELD to save 20%)
- Apollo (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- BrainTap
- Nucalm
- Drops you into sleep pretty quickly and wakes you up gently
- Ben’s Apollo schedule
- 9 p.m. – Unwind
- 9:30 p.m. – Fall asleep
- 6 a.m. – Energy
- 8 a.m. – Focus
- 2 p.m. – Calm (for siesta)
- Social and Recover mode whenever he feels like it
- Battery life – on average 2-3 days
- Working hard to make battery life better
-Studies on athletes with Recovery function…1:05:14
- A study was published in July 2022 at the University of Pittsburgh
- A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study
- Apollo vibrations after intense exercise periods
- During a 2-minute recovery period – increases HRV
- Optimizes recovery and performance
-Stacking Apollo with other stuff…1:07:48
- The inspiration behind Apollo's creation was breathwork and biofeedback
- The rhythm of Apollo is that 5 to 7 breaths per minute that change over time that helps to get you into a resonance state
- The best to pair breathing with Apollo vibrations
- Using music and breathwork with Apollo (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- CBD
- Mood-stabilizing adaptogens (think of the Apollo as an adaptogenic wearable)
- “Better with Apollo” program
- Combining Apollo with light sound stimulation machines
- BrainTap
- neuroVIZR (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Dr. Rabin has also heard great things about people combining Apollo with TRIPP VR and Oculus VR
- Apollo has been improving the performance of video gamers in eSports
- Works well on long drives
- Bio-acoustic mat paired with the neuroVIZR (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
-And much more…
- Apollo – use code BG15 to get a 15% discount
Upcoming Events:
- Walk For Water: August 8th, 2023
The team and I here at Ben Greenfield Life will be participating in a special Walk For Water event this year. Around the world, 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water. Millions of women and children walk more than three miles to collect water for their families every day. Often this water is not safe to drink, resulting in illness and even death, but we have the power to change this. I invite you to join us by walking for water yourself. Just $50 can provide clean water for one person for life. Learn more here.
- Disrupt Healthcare: September 27 – September 30, 2023
Join me for the Disrupt 2023 Event in Atlanta, Georgia between September 27th – 30th. This highly practical and immersive workshop will feature live Q&As, my top secrets for career success, and much more! Head to bengreenfieldlife.com/disrupt2023 to claim your spot today.
- Couples Collective: October 25 – 29, 2023
Join Jessa and me for an exclusive and immersive way to explore health, wellness, and mindset with your significant other in Napa, California October 25th – 29th. Head over to ownitcoaching.com/couples-collective to apply.
- Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources from this episode:
- Apollo (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- A Whole New Way To Deal With Stress, Trauma & PTSD In Just Seconds: The First Clinically Validated Wearable That Helps You De-Stress, Focus, Sleep, Stay Energized & Remain Calm
- The Future Of Healthcare, Wearables, AI, Plant Medicine & More With Dr. David Rabin & Dr. Joseph Maroon
– Other Resources:
- How To Tap Into The Secret Psychedelic Tactics Of The Ancients Using A Free & Fast Anti-Aging, Stress-Busting, Energy-Boosting Hack.
- Reishi
- Ashwagandha
- CBD
- PEMF Mat
- HBOT
- Muse headband (use code BENGREENFIELD to save 20%)
- Apollo (use code BG15 to save 15%)
- Nucalm
- HRV (use code BEN40 to save)
- Fitbit
- Whoop
- Sensate
- Oura ring
- BrainTap
- neuroVIZR (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Biomat Bio-Acoustic Mat
- Kathryn Fantauzzi
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Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for David Rabin or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!
I am a hardcore user of apollo neuro since 11 months now and it helped me alot to better to activate my parasymphatic nevour system and my HRV.
Also i’m feeling a loss calmer most of the time.
I am using it for about 3 to 5 hours per day and 2 to 3 hours per night.
Apollo was great and helped me a lot during Covid and honestly for me more effective than the Hapbee. However I have had issues with both and Hapbee is super responsive and has replaced my band numerous times due to issues internally. My Apollo after being replaced the replacement lasted less than a year and got hot when charging. I was apart of the beta program gave them access to my oura scores and they gave me a 30% off coupon. So be weary if you are spending 300 dollars that if/when it goes out the solution is for you to buy another one. I would recommend everyone have one if it was not so expensive and they don’t stand behind it be forwarded.
I have been a long-time listener and have purchased many products as a result of this podcast and the recommendations but this one I am the most excited about. Just ordered!!!!
glad to hear it, let me know your thoughts after you try it
Great podcast the information you get from Bens podcasts are life changing. I will be ordering my apollo soon. Thanks Ben
Thanks Mark! Would be to curious to hear your feedback after you try it.