Can an Apple Watch Detect Sleep Apnoea?
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Last updated on March 19th, 2025 at 12:04 pm
The Apple Watch pairs with the Health app to provide an overview of your sleep so you can monitor your sleep patterns, set goals, and track your progress.
As technology evolves, so do sleep-tracking devices; this article will explore how the Apple Watch monitors your sleep and can help determine whether you have Sleep Apnoea symptoms.
Table of Contents
How Does an Apple Watch Track Your Sleep?
The Apple Watch tracks your sleep through a heart rate monitoring sensor, pulse oximeter and an accelerometer that detects movement during sleep.
Here is a breakdown of how it works:
Motion detection: The accelerometer tracks your movements throughout the night. By detecting periods of minimal movement, the watch can determine when you might be asleep and estimate the stages of sleep.
Blood oxygen sensor: The sensor uses pulse oximetry to estimate the oxygen percentage in the bloodstream. This function is only done briefly when the user’s arm is in the correct position and is not intended for medical use.
Heart rate monitoring: The heart rate sensor measures your heart rate variability, which changes in different stages of sleep. Lower variability is generally associated with deeper sleep stages.
Sleep stages: The Apple Watch uses data from the accelerometer and heart rate monitor to estimate your sleep stages. It organises your sleep into different phases, such as deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep. Be mindful that this is more of an estimate than a precise measurement.
Sleep duration and quality: The watch provides data on total sleep duration, how long you were awake during the night, and how restful your sleep was. Which is viewable within the Health app.
Sleep trends: Over time, the Apple Watch can show trends in your sleep patterns, helping you understand your sleep quality or duration changes.
These sensors provide insights into how long you sleep, your heart rate, estimated respiratory rate and sleep stages. This allows users to understand their sleep patterns and gain insights into their sleep quality.
Apple Watch and Sleep Apnoea
The watch provides insights into your sleep patterns, which can signify a potential sleep problem. If irregular sleep schedules, frequent awakenings, and an irregular heart rate are highlighted, it can indicate that a sleep condition may be present.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is one of the most common sleep disorders, affecting millions of people worldwide.
The condition is caused by the upper airway collapsing, creating an airway blockage. These airway blockages stop the airflow, causing breathing disruptions during sleep and resulting in broken sleep and reduced overall sleep.
If after a 30 day period the watch detects frequent elevated breathing disturbances, it will notify you of possible Sleep Apnoea. The alert notification will highlight when possible OSA disruptions occurred throughout the night (1). You can view these notifications within the Health app on Apple devices.
What Signs of Sleep Apnoea Does an Apple Watch Track?
While an Apple Watch cannot determine if you have Sleep Apnoea, it can provide insights into signs of the condition.
According to Apple, the sleep tracking algorithm was developed using an extensive data set of clinical-grade Sleep Apnoea tests and validated in a clinical study (2).
As the watch monitors your sleep duration, sleep stages, total sleep time, irregular sleep patterns and heart rate, it can identify if you’re having trouble sleeping.
Most sleep disorders lead to altered sleeping patterns, broken sleep, and a lack of deep sleep.
Device Measurements and How They Relate to Sleep Apnoea
Tracking sleep stages and sleep quality: Sleep Apnoea can lead to reduced overall sleep time, disrupt sleep stages- notably less REM sleep, and can also affect sleep quality.
Heart rate and rhythm: Heart rate lowers during an apnoea event and speeds up when you resume breathing.
Body movements: After an apnoea event, you might briefly wake up, and the watch detects this.
Blood oxygen levels (on Apple Watch Series 6 and later): Blood oxygen levels decrease during an apnoea event. However, an Apple Watch does not directly measure blood oxygen levels continuously or detect breathing interruptions, which are critical indicators for diagnosing Sleep Apnoea.
Additionally, some alternative smartwatches can detect snoring, a sign of airway collapse. Snoring is one of the most common signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. All in all, the Apple Watch Sleep Apnoea symptom tracking system helps you understand if you are at risk of the condition.
The Sleep Apnoea Test
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A quick and easy way to confirm if you do or do not have Sleep Apnoea is by taking a sleep test.
The test requires one night of sleep data, and the results are sent to you within two working days.
If Sleep Apnoea is detected, our in-house clinicians can walk you through your treatment options and answer any questions you may have.
How to set up Sleep Apnoea detection on your Apple Watch
Follow these 5 steps:
- If you have a Series 9 or Ultra 2 watch, Install watchOS 11. For series 10 watches and above, the latest software should be installed.
- Open the Health app (the app with the pink heart icon) on your iPhone, click ‘browse’ and select the ‘Respiratory’ option.
- Scroll to the ‘Sleep Apnoea notifications’ and click set up.
- Click through and, answer the yes/no health questions, and press continue.
- Read through the How Sleep Apnoea Notifications work text, tap ‘next’ and then tap ‘done’.
Its as simple as that!
What Should I do if my Apple Watch Detects Sleep Apnoea Symptoms?
You should seek medical advice if your watch has highlighted signs of Sleep Apnoea. Some other symptoms of OSA that your watch cannot highlight include:
- Waking up tired
- Problems concentrating
- Memory issues
- Morning headaches
- Shortness of breath during sleep
- Choking during sleep
- Waking up gasping
When OSA is left untreated, it can affect many aspects of your life and impact your relationship with those closest to you. Seeking diagnosis and treatment is the best thing you can do for your health so you can start to feel your best again.
Our clinical home sleep test is a quick and affordable way to determine if you have OSA.
What Is the Best Smartwatch for Tracking Sleep Apnoea Symptoms?
Like the Apple Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch can detect signs of Sleep Apnoea. The Galaxy Watch’s Sleep Apnoea feature is the first to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for detecting OSA episodes.
To utilise this feature, users must be over the age of 22, wear the watch to track their sleep for over a two-night monitoring period within a ten-day period and ensure they sleep for at least four hours.
It is important to note that the FDA also mentions that this Samsung feature is not a replacement for clinical sleep studies, which remain the gold-standard diagnostic tool (3).
Similarly, the Fitbit app can help you track your estimated oxygen variation level, which can help highlight potential breathing interruptions during sleep. Typically, high oxygen variation can be a sign of breathing difficulty (4).
The Best Sleep-Tracking Watches of 2024
All smartwatches have different qualities that set them apart from each other; here are some of the best general sleep-tracking ones:
- Apple Watch Series 9
- Samsung Galaxy Watch
- Fitbit Inspire 3
- Google Pixel Watch 2
- Garmin Venu 3S
- Whoop 4.0
No sleep tracker can perfectly analyse your sleep or diagnose a sleep disorder, but it can help identify trends in your sleep and provide insights to improve your sleep and overall health.
Can I Use my Apple Watch to Track my Sleep Apnoea treatment?
No, this is not possible. However, you can track your CPAP therapy treatment by reading your machine data directly from the device screen or the compatible smart device app. Additionally, you can discuss your progress through clinical follow-ups; these are the most reliable ways to track your treatment.
What is CPAP Therapy?
CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure and is the most widely used treatment method for Sleep Apnoea.
CPAP therapy consists of a machine and mask that provide consistent airflow to keep the airway open. There are various types of machines and styles of masks designed to suit the requirements of different users.
One of the best ways to track your treatment progress is through a CPAP therapy smartphone management app. Most newer devices connect to these downloadable apps that pair to your device via Bluetooth to provide:
- An overview of how effective your treatment is.
- Your mask leak rate.
- Tracking compliance with therapy.
- The number of apnoea episodes during sleep.
An example of one of these apps is ResMed myAir, which makes it easy for you to view your data and for your clinician or doctor, too.
CPAP Machines
CPAP Masks
The treatment you are recommended is dependent on your severity of OSA, for those with milder cases they may be recommended a mouthguard or positional therapy. These alternative treatments keep the airway open to stop breathing disruptions during sleep.
Mandibular Advancement Devices
Positional Therapy
Summary
The Apple Watch is a valuable tool for tracking basic sleep patterns and can help you monitor and improve your sleep habits.
However, it should not be relied upon to diagnose sleep disorders. If you suspect you have symptoms of Sleep Apnoea, please order a home sleep study for an accurate diagnosis.
We are experts in the field of Sleep Apnoea and are more than happy to help you understand if you have the condition, provide treatment methods and support you throughout your treatment journey.
We hope this article has provided clarity surrounding the Apple Watch Sleep Apnoea symptom tracking.
Related articles:
Health risks of untreated Sleep Apnoea
About Our Editorial Team
Written By,
Danielle Mahri, Staff Writer
Danni is a degree-educated content writer who works closely with our clinical and customer services teams to ensure every article is well-researched and accurate. Each article is written to educate, help, and advise on Sleep Apnoea, spread awareness, and encourage treatment.
Medically Reviewed By,
Jay Gadher, Clinical Manager
Jay is an experienced Respiratory and Sleep Clinical Scientist. He completed his BSc in Healthcare Science, which has allowed him to gain expertise in scoring sleep studies. His knowledge and insights about sleep science and human health ensure every article reflects the latest data.
References
- Apple Support. (2024). Receive Sleep Apnea Notifications on Apple Watch. Available at: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/watch/apd4e7713562/watchos. Accessed: 16.10.2024.
- Newsroom. 2024. Apple introduces groundbreaking health features to support conditions impacting billions of people. Available at: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/09/apple-introduces-groundbreaking-health-features/. Accessed: 16.10.2024.
- FDA News Release. (2024). FDA Roundup: February 9, 2024. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-roundup-february-9-2024. Accessed: 09.09.2024.
- Google. Fitbit Help Center. Available at: https://support.google.com/fitbit/answer/14237927. Accessed: 16.10.2024.