If you ever wanted a reason to have a smartwatch, Apple just provided it. From today, sleep apnoea notifications are available on Apple Watch in Australia. It’s a new feature to help identify signs of moderate to severe sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea can be dangerous as it is a condition where breathing stops repeatedly during sleep.
“Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common and serious sleep disorder, potentially impacting a million Australians,” said Dr. Moira Junge, CEO of the Sleep Health Foundation. “As it often goes undiagnosed, awareness and early detection of sleep apnoea is a welcome and significant step towards healthier sleep, and improved lives. Good sleep is a pillar of health and well-being.”
To detect sleep apnoea, 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 apnoea. 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 analysed and will notify the user if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnoea 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 apnoea 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 apnoea notification algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and an extensive dataset of clinical-grade sleep apnoea tests. The feature was then validated in a clinical study.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
This is a free feature supported on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
