With watchOS 11 the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 now offer a feature to help identify signs of sleep apnea.
To detect signs of sleep apnea, Apple Watch uses the accelerometer to monitor small movements at the wrist during sleep that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, tracked by a new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disturbances. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.
Following an onboarding for the feature, the new sleep apnea notifications algorithm analyzes breathing disturbance data every 30 days, so Apple Watch can notify a user if it identifies signs of sleep apnea. The notification includes 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.
Sleep apnea notifications use the advanced processing power of the S9 SiP and S10 SiP and scientifically validated algorithms. The feature was developed with advanced machine learning and training data from thousands of nights of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests, and validated in the largest study ever conducted for the FDA clearance of a sleep apnea device. Following FDA 510(k) clearance and additional global health authority authorizations, sleep apnea notifications are now available in more than 150 countries and regions, including the U.S., the EU, and Japan.
To set up sleep apnea notifications
- Go to the Health app on your iPhone.
- Tap your picture or initials at the top right.
- Tap Health Checklist, tap Set Up below Sleep Apnea Notifications, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Review your breathing disturbances data
- Go to the Health app on your iPhone, then tap Browse.
- Tap Respiratory, then tap Breathing Disturbances.
Turn off sleep apnea notifications
- Go to the Health app on your iPhone.
- Tap your picture or initials at the top right.
- Tap Health Checklist, tap Sleep Apnea Notifications, then turn Sleep Apnea Notifications off.
(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages.)
