Background

It happens like clockwork. You’ve had the most stressful day, you’re exhausted, and all you want to do is catch 8+ hours. Yet somehow, your racing thoughts don’t get the memo and you’re awake half the night. There’s a reason this happens.

When we’re stressed, our autonomic nervous system gets out of balance, favoring the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) and releasing stress hormones. When our fight-or-flight response is active, it sends signals to our brain that we are under threat and need to be escaping danger, not relaxing and sleeping.  

If this sounds like you, you’re in good (er, tired) company. An estimated 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep conditions, and 35% of adults fail to meet recommended levels of nightly sleep [1]. The short term effects of too little sleep are noticeable, but reversible. But too many nights of too little sleep can have a serious impact on our our physical and mental health [2]. 

And the pandemic has made sleep worse. In an international study in March and April 2020, 40 percent of people said their sleep had gotten worse during the pandemic — and use of sleeping pills increased by 20 percent.

• Up to 19% increase in deep sleep
• Up to 14% increase in REM sleep
• Up to 6% increase in total sleep time
• Up to 11% increase in HRV
• Up to 4% decrease in resting heart rate

See the clinical trial. This study was sponsored by Apollo Neuroscience.

Intro

In order to examine Apollo Neuro’s effect on sleep and cardiovascular function, the Apollo Neuroscience research team initiated a remote observational study examining Apollo Neuro users’ cardiovascular and sleep quality metrics as measured by the Oura Ring (Ōura Health Ltd., Oulu, Finland) health tracking device. This ongoing study will follow Apollo Neuro users’ sleep and cardiovascular metrics over two years.

Through analysis of this trove of sleep data, rarely available at such high volumes and in real-world settings, we are able to observe trends in sleep from Apollo users to include deep sleep scores, REM sleep scores, overall sleep scores total sleep duration, and cardiovascular metrics like resting heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV).

While we are still collecting data from existing and new participants in this observational study, a preliminary analysis has already turned up statistically significant insights that can help our users access higher quality sleep in a very real way. 

Study

In our first cohort of the study, over 500 Apollo Neuro users who also own Oura Rings volunteered to share their Oura Ring data with the Apollo Neuroscience research team. No guidance was provided to the study subjects regarding how to use Apollo Neuro or how to go about daily activities or sleep behaviors. To be included in this study, subjects needed to have at least 14 days of Oura Ring use before using Apollo Neuro and at least 14 days of Oura Ring use after starting to use Apollo Neuro. 

Subjects used the Oura Ring for five months on average to establish a biometric baseline prior to using Apollo Neuro. Subjects were followed for 3-15 months of combined Apollo Neuro and Oura Ring use. Biometrics recorded by the Oura Ring during the months of Apollo Neuro use were averaged and compared to the mean baselines of the same biometrics prior to using Apollo Neuro.

Hypothesis

Consistent Apollo Neuro use will increase sleep duration and quality and result in improved metrics of cardiovascular fitness. 

Key Objectives:

1. Assess the impact of Apollo Neuro use on sleep quality as measured by Oura Ring.
2. Assess the impact of Apollo Neuro use on cardiovascular metrics as measured by Oura Ring.

Preliminary results

Apollo Neuro users experienced statistically significant improvements in deep sleep, REM sleep, total sleep, resting heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) just from adding Apollo to their lives.

Apollo Neuro significantly improved sleep and cardiovascular fitness metrics in those who used it for at least 3 hours per day and for at least 5 days per week during the day and night. This is the same amount of improvement seen with the adoption of a new mindfulness practice, integrating exercise into daily routines, and the impact of meditation on sleep quality. Additional findings from these subjects include up to:

• 19% increase in deep sleep
• 14% increase in REM sleep
• 6% increase in total sleep time
• 11% increase in HRV
• 4% decrease in resting heart rate

Join Dr. Dave Rabin’s Apollo + Oura Ring study group

Do you wear an Oura Ring? Join Dr. Dave Rabin’s ongoing Apollo + Oura Ring sleep study group. Your Oura Ring data will be analyzed to understand the effects of Apollo on your sleep, recovery, and resilience to better understand how Apollo can help us resist illness and recover faster. 

Sharing your sleep data with us helps us make Apollo work even better for you and the rest of the Apollo community. Plus, by joining our research team, you'll get first access to study results and exciting new Apollo features.

A note on privacy: We take privacy and confidentiality very seriously. We will never share your private and identifiable information with anyone. You can stop participating in the study anytime by revoking authorization to access your Oura data or contact us.

Join the research team

Note: you need to have an existing Oura Ring account to participate.

References

1. Colten HR, Altevogt BM. Extent and health consequences of chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders. Sleep Disord sleep deprivation an unmet public Heal Probl. Published online 2006:55-135.
2. Medic G, Wille M, Hemels MEH. Short-and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nat Sci Sleep. 2017;9:151.
3. Takase B, Akima T, Satomura K, et al. Effects of chronic sleep deprivation on autonomic activity by examining heart rate variability, plasma catecholamine, and intracellular magnesium levels. Biomed Pharmacother. 2004;58(SUPPL. 1):S35-S39. doi:10.1016/S0753-3322(04)80007-6
4. Barrett B, Harden CM, Brown RL, Coe CL, Irwin MR. Mindfulness meditation and exercise both improve sleep quality: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of community dwelling adults. Sleep Heal.2020;6(6):804-813. doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2020.04.003
5. Buckley TM, Schatzberg AF. On the Interactions of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis and Sleep: Normal HPA Axis Activity and Circadian Rhythm, Exemplary Sleep Disorders. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90(5):3106-3114. doi:10.1210/jc.2004-1056
6. Kashani M, Eliasson A, Vernalis M. Perceived stress correlates with disturbed sleep: a link connecting stress and cardiovascular disease. Stress. 2012;15(1):45-51
7. Rusch HL, Rosario M, Levison LM, et al. The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2019;1445(1):5-16. doi:10.1111/nyas.13996
8. Barrett B, Harden CM, Brown RL, Coe CL, Irwin MR. Mindfulness meditation and exercise both improve sleep quality: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of community dwelling adults. Sleep Health. 2020 Dec;6(6):804-813. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2020.04.003. Epub 2020 May 22. PMID: 32448712; PMCID: PMC8157793.