Sleep apnea experts weigh in on the Apple Watch's latest health feature — here's the verdict

 

Sleep apnea affects 25 million people in the U.S. and 1.5 million in the U.K., but it’s a surprisingly difficult disorder to diagnose, considering the obvious symptoms occur when you’re asleep. Without a partner to observe you during the night, it could be years before you realise you may have the disorder.

However, yesterday the FDA approved the new Apple Watch (a.k.a. the Apple Watch Series 10) to detect symptoms of sleep apnea and notify users of possible cases. While this new tech won’t be able to diagnose sleep apnea, it can highlight common symptoms that will help a doctor diagnose you. 

But experts have warned us not to rely solely on our smartwatches to monitor our health. With the help of Dr Chelsea Perry and Dr Marschall Runge, we’ll take a look at exactly what the Apple Watch will be able to do, whether it's a positive development, and how you can keep an eye out for common sleep apnea symptoms.

What is sleep apnea? 

According to the CDC, sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which makes people temporarily stop breathing in the night. There are two types of the disorder, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea. 

Harvard Health describes Obstructive Sleep Apnea as when the throat muscles relax during sleep, causing the airways to become blocked, partially or completely. This disrupts the airflow, causing the person to stop breathing and therefore, wake up. 

Central Sleep Apnea is less common than OSA, and professor Rodriguez-Villegas, the founder and director of the Wearable Technologies Lab at Imperial College London, and the founder and CEO of medtech company Acurable, says it occurs when “the brain briefly fails to send the necessary signals to the muscles that control breathing.”