Anyone use the Apollo Neuro? Did it work for you?

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Wasn't sure where to put this post, figured it might go under health...

So I got this Apollo Neuro - it was crazy expensive (nearly AU$500 including postage from US) but I was at my wits end how to keep my nervous system regulated enough to stay in my job. It's a kind of investment.

If you haven't seen one, it's just a thing you wear on ankle or wrist which vibrates, and is supposed to help with reducing stress, improving sleep and such.

I've been wearing it 2 weeks (I prefer on ankle) and undecided whether it's having any effect. My nervous system has been pretty steady over this period (judging from HRV readings from my Fitbit). But that might be coincidence or placebo effect. And sleep has been variable, some nights OK, some still bad.

Anyone else tried using one of these?

nobody at all?

I've never heard of it before.

But you're right, crazy expensive.

 This Harvard University Health Study  reports the following:

The Bottom Line

Many ways to reduce stress in your life don't require buying a high-tech device. And while it would be great if such a gadget could safely reduce symptoms and complications of chronic stress, without solid evidence it's impossible to know whether any of the claims made by the makers of Apollo Neuro are true. In my view, this gadget is like many other healthcare products available for purchase: the marketing has gotten way ahead of the science.

The report was written by Robert H. Shmerling, MD, the Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Robert H. Shmerling is the former clinical chief of the division of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), and is a current member of the corresponding faculty in medicine at Harvard Medical School.  As a practicing rheumatologist for over 30 years, Dr. Shmerling engaged in a mix of patient care, teaching, and research.  His research interests center on diagnostic studies in patients with musculoskeletal symptoms, and rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.  He has published research regarding infectious arthritis, medical ethics, and diagnostic test performance in rheumatic disease.  Having retired from patient care in 2019, Dr. Shmerling now works as a senior faculty editor for Harvard Health Publishing.

In short, the "Apollo Neuro" is a piece of medical quackery design the extract money from the pockets of vulnerable people who are desperate to try anything, even it it may do more harm than good.

Maybe, maybe not.

I've been wearing it for a few weeks now and over that time my resting heart rate has been more stable than usual and HRV (heart rate variability - an indicator of nervous system function) has been consistently within my healthy range. Which is a big improvement on before.

Can't really conclude its the Apollo making the difference, it might be coincidence, but I'm not yet ready to dismiss their claims entirely.

I think wearable tech has a lot of potential and might even be pushing the boundaries of medical knowledge simply because nobody has ever done it before. The old style of medical study would typically capture cross-sectional heart rate data over a short period of time. Now they are able to use wearables to capture long-term data for large populations we will be seeing advances in the monitoring and regulation of the nervous system which I predict will be very helpful for autistics.

And no Fnord, I'm not a scientist and I have no credentials - this is just my lay opinion.