The latest generation of smartwatches incorporate technology that can track oxygen levels, the quality of your sleep, and the number of hours of restorative REM sleep you get per night, which may provide insights into whether efforts to overcome sleep apnea are working. Apple’s newer models contain these functions, although sleep apnea-specific tracking is only available on the Series 9 or Ultra 2 watch or more recent editions. Older smartwatches monitor sleep but don’t have sleep apnea notifications.
While smartwatches are not medical devices and do not provide overnight pulse oximetry, nor can they accurately diagnose sleep apnea, it may be worth comparing alternatives like the Oura Ring and the Fitbit if you’re looking to promote healthier nighttime breathing and keep track of your rest.
How Can Wearable Tech Be Used By Sleep Apnea Sufferers?
Fitness trackers and smartwatches can record a host of metrics, from your daily footsteps to your average heart rate. They can’t necessarily differentiate between sleep apnea and other sleep disturbances but might be used to notice correlations between waking events.
One of the newest features available on later Apple Watch models is Sleep Apnea Notifications. This feature notes variations in your breathing while you are sleeping and attempts to grade those disturbances in order of severity.
There are caveats to bear in mind:
- A smartwatch records sleep activity in general and cannot tell the difference between disturbed breathing due to a cold or respiratory illness and that related to sleep apnea.
- The ‘accelerometer’ within an Apple Watch categorizes breathing as either ‘elevated’ or ‘not elevated’ without any greater degree of specificity.
- Notifications are based on aggregated sleep data over a thirty-day period, which means that they are averages and are only available if you wear your watch consistently for at least ten nights per month.
Sleep apnea sufferers may, though, opt to wear an Apple Watch or another brand of smartwatch to help them look for signs of sleep apnea or see whether changes they are making to support healthier breathing are working.
Guidance on Setting Up Sleep Apnea Notifications on Your Apple Watch
Provided you have an Apple Watch model that supports sleep apnea notifications, you can set this up to record automatically. If the watch detects frequent breathing disturbances, it will transmit an alert with a PDF report of the recorded data, which you can discuss with your physician.
To set up the notifications, you will need to:
- Head to your ‘Health’ application
- Tap on your initials or image
- Select ‘Health Checklist’
- Pick ‘Set Up’ underneath ‘Sleep Apnea Notifications’
- Following the set-up instructions
Once activated, you can access the Health app and navigate through Respiratory and Breathing Disturbances to retrieve your latest data. Note that Apple has advised that this feature is only designed for adults aged eighteen and older and is not intended for individuals without a sleep apnea diagnosis or as an alternative to professional medical care.
Monitoring Sleep Quality as Part of Your Sleep Apnea Approach
As we’ve indicated, smartwatches aren’t clinically efficient. Still, they may be a handy way to identify whether the breathing techniques and healthy sleep hygiene strategies outlined in Sleep Apnea Solution are having the desired effects.
Keeping track of your sleep–both in terms of quantity and quality–is also generally a positive way to make healthy lifestyle changes, particularly if you have noticed that you feel fatigued in the morning or suspect that your sleep is mainly lighter sleep that doesn’t help you feel energized and ready for the day ahead.
Alongside being proactive about monitoring your sleep, it may be worth reviewing your sleep environment to ensure you are setting yourself up for rest in the best possible way, following the usual advice of avoiding caffeine and stimulants in the evening, maintaining a comfortable, cool temperature, and to trying not to look at screens in the hour or two before bed. Following a consistent sleep schedule is also a great idea, as it can help your body become accustomed to the same sleep and waking times each day.
To learn more about natural ways to augment your rest and holistic ways to boost your breathing at night, order your downloadable copy of Sleep Apnea Solution, and make sure you have your sleep apnea notifications activated to monitor the outcomes.
