UPDATE
October 24, 2024
Sleep apnea notifications available today on Apple Watch
Starting today, a new Apple Watch feature to help identify signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea is available in Canada. Apple has secured a Medical Device License from Health Canada for the sleep apnea notification feature.1
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition where breathing stops repeatedly during sleep. The condition, which is estimated to impact more than 1 billion people worldwide, goes undiagnosed in most cases. If left untreated, sleep apnea can have important consequences on health, including an increased risk of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiac issues.
To detect sleep apnea, Apple Watch uses the accelerometer to monitor small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, measured by a new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disturbances. While some of these disturbances are normal, they are important to track as they can be used to help understand restfulness of sleep and, when occurring frequently over multiple nights, may be associated with sleep apnea. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app on iPhone and iPad, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.
Every 30 days, breathing disturbance data is analyzed and will notify the user if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can speak to their doctor about next steps, including potential diagnosis and treatment. The notification will include the time period when potential sleep apnea occurred and educational materials on the importance of seeking treatment, along with a PDF providing three months of breathing disturbance data, notification details, and additional information to reference during a conversation with a healthcare provider.
The sleep apnea notification algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and an extensive dataset of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests. The feature was then validated in a clinical study — unprecedented in size for sleep apnea technology. In the clinical validation study, every participant identified by the algorithm had at least mild sleep apnea.
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- Sleep apnea notifications are available in more than 150 countries and regions, including the U.S., the EU, and Japan. A complete list of regions is available at apple.com/ca/watchos/feature-availability. The feature is supported on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. It is intended to detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea for people 18 years or older without a diagnosis of sleep apnea.