I Tried the Buzzy Apollo Wearable to Get Better Sleep — Here’s My Honest Review

We can all agree that stress is the one thing that everyone deals with in one way or another. (If you don't, please share your secret.) The past few years have been more hectic than ever. Not only do we have the everyday stress of work, family, and personal issues, but also a pandemic, political indifference, and a looming recession. Stress can show up in a variety of ways and affect both our mental and physical health, causing problems such as irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches, and insomnia.

For me, stress directly affects my sleep, and while I lay awake at night listening to my partner proclaim his restful sleep by snoring, I pray for an end to the misery. I've tried different sleep aids, from melatonin to medication, but either they don't work or they leave me groggy in the morning. When I was invited to try the Apollo Wearable, which is designed to help with both stress and sleep, I jumped at the opportunity. Here is my experience trying out the device and how it helped me sleep.

‌(While I did receive the Apollo touch therapy tech in exchange for an honest review, all of the thoughts and opinions in this article are my own, and not influenced by Apollo in any way.)‌

Great question — even the name is a little elusive. The Apollo Wearable is a sleek wearable device that uses safe, non-invasive touch therapy to send silent, soothing vibrations to the body that help you feel safe and in control during unrest and stress. You can wear it as either a clip-on or a wristband, allowing you flexibility whether you want to wear it on your wrist, ankle, or attached to clothing to align with your spine or chest. Once worn, the device is then connected to a smartphone app, developed by neuroscientists, that helps you create routines of vibrations that can improve your body's resilience to stress, help with focus and meditation, soothe anxiety in social settings, and (my personal favorite) help with relaxation and sleep.

There are six color options and three wristband sizes, so it's easy to find the perfect look and fit, and seamlessly integrate it into your style.

The Apollo Wearable uses haptics — those subtle tap vibrations you might feel on a smartphone or watch — to deliver smooth and gentle vibrations to the body. As the brand's site explains, "when we are feeling stressed, the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) branch of our nervous system is activated," which can then have us feeling tired, worn down, over-stimulated, or distracted, which can then make it difficult to relax and fall asleep at the end of the day. Using touch therapy, the Apollo works by signaling safety to the body through our sense of touch, which then restores balance to the nervous system.

The easily downloadable app — available in the Apple app store and Google Play — has seven modes to help moderate your mood and mentally tackle any project throughout the day:

1. Energy and Wake Up
2. Social and Open
3. Clear and Focused
4. Rebuild and Recover
5. Meditation and Mindfulness
6. Relax and Unwind
7. Sleep and Renew
   

Each of those modes, in order, are meant to help give you clarity in the mornings, elevate your mood for networking and parties, clear your mind for maximum focus and productivity, recover after a workout, find moments of zen, relax and unwind after a long day, and (finally) fall and stay asleep. You can manually switch these on depending on your day, or preprogram a schedule on the app that automatically transitions modes throughout the day to provide maximum results without skipping a beat. The app will track your usage and can also be connected to other mood-tracking technology, such as Apple Health and Oura Ring, for full biometrics tracking.

I like that the Apollo is a drug-free mood stabilizer and easy to use. My sleep has improved from barely sleeping to quickly falling asleep and staying asleep without feeling groggy in the morning. At night, I wore the Apollo on my ankle, it felt less bulky and distracting than on my wrist. I set the intensity level to medium and after a few minutes, I fell right to sleep and didn't notice it for the rest of the 120-minute session.

I have to say that the only mode that made a difference for me was Sleep and Renew. I didn't really notice much of a difference in my mood throughout the day, no matter how high I turned the vibrations on. The steep price tag of $399 may be hard for some to swallow for a mood-enhancing device. There is a monthly payment plan of $37 per month, if you want to pay it off slowly, which does make it more manageable, but $400 is nothing to gloss over.

There is a 30-day return policy that the brand upholds, so it's definitely worth a try to see if you enjoy it. You have to pay for shipping, but otherwise, you're able to return it within 30 days if you're unsatisfied for any reason.

The Apollo does have a sleek design but is a bit bulky and bigger than most watches. I am not much of an accessory person as it is, so it did take some time to get used to, even when I tried to wear it on different positions on my body. I feel like it would be easier to wear if the device was smaller.

I was really excited to try the Apollo wearable technology to help manage my mood and regulate my sleep. It did help me fall asleep, but overall, it didn't help much with my mood throughout the day. Personally, I don't feel the $400 price tag is necessarily worth the hype, but everyone can react differently to touch therapy. With the 30-day money-back guarantee, it's definitely worth a try!