Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh completed a study validating Apollo Neuro's impact on meditation and brain waves, accelerating access to meditative states.

There's no question that meditation and mindfulness have a positive impact on our bodies and minds. Focusing our minds, breathing deeply, and taking a quiet moment to ourselves reminds us that we're in control of our attention and equips us to take on life's inevitable ups and downs. You've probably heard endless successful founders claiming meditation is the key to their success. But learning to meditate is pretty hard - when our minds race, achieving mental nirvana feels like a cosmic joke. And once we've mastered the art of meditation, how can we learn to deepen the practice? To answer this question, neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychology and Psychiatry launched a study to assess whether Apollo Neuro's vibrations can reliably impact the meditation practices of both beginner and experienced meditators.

From a neuroscience and psychology perspective, meditation is the practice of undivided listening. It's as if the brain is divided into two parts — one part devoted to thinking and doing things and the other part dedicated to listening to what is happening around us and inside us. The majority of us spend most of our time doing things because our society demands and prioritizes productivity. By balancing the amount of time we spend between doing and listening through the practice of meditation, we train our brains to learn to listen, not just with our ears but with and to our entire body.

The Hypothesis

We hypothesized that Apollo's vibrations could improve the ability to reach meditative states, making the benefits of meditation easier and more accessible.

Study Design

In the study, 50 healthy adults — 25 experienced meditators and 25 people without meditation experience — were exposed to guided mindfulness recordings with and without Apollo Neuro vibrations. The study evaluated changes to electrical activity in the brain, as measured by electroencephalogram (EEG), during meditation with and without Apollo, and compared the meditators' brains to the non-meditators' brains. Read more about the clinical trial.

Results Summary

With Apollo vibrations, naive meditators' EEG signatures looked like those of experienced meditators within twelve minutes. This correlated with subjective reports from study participants who said they felt like they had experienced a deeper state of consciousness distinctly different from their experience without Apollo. 

All 25 experienced meditators could shift their EEG brainwave signature within 12 minutes with or without Apollo vibrations. Still, the brainwave signature changes happened more quickly with Apollo vibrations. Consistent with this finding, experienced meditators also reported the ability to access deeper meditative states more quickly with Apollo vibrations. None of the 25 naive meditators could make their brainwave signatures look like those of experienced meditators within 12 minutes without Apollo vibrations. Naive meditators reported finding the guided mindfulness recording and Apollo vibrations helpful, whereas experienced meditators reported that the guided mindfulness recording was not as helpful and often distracting.

Conclusions

• For individuals new to meditation, consistent use of Apollo Neuro improves access to meditative states of mind.
• Pairing Apollo Neuro with music or a guided meditation can be of benefit, particularly for those without a lot of meditation experience.
• Apollo Neuro can help experienced meditators deepen their meditation practice.