First Time Ever !!!!! Sleep Apnea Feature on Samsung Galaxy Watch – Apple & Garmin soon?

Sleep Apnea Feature on Samsung Galaxy Watch

This is a word first for Samsung with an FDA-approved stamp of approval that its tech can detect sleep apnea. the likes of Apple, Google and  Garmin are likely to follow over the next 2 years.

Sleep Apnea is a potentially serious condition possibly affecting up to 25% of US men and 10% of US women. It involves you stopping breathing when asleep. The causes might be due to a blockage or lack of a neurological signal. Snoring can also be a related symptom.

Can Your Apple Watch Detect Sleep Apnea?

Tech

The consumer tech players adopt different approaches to detecting breathing. Apple announced its ability to do that in 2021 and uses a combination of movement (accelerometer) and optical HR. Other approaches can detect a breath from subtle changes in an HRV/HR signal. However, the approach and Apple and others has not yet received the FDA’s stamp of approval, unlike Samsung.

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Q: When will sleep apnea detection come to Apple & Garmin?

A: I would expect Apple to announce it in September 2024. Maybe even earlier with the WatchOS 11 announcement. Garmin probably will take a little longer but 2025 seems a reasonable working assumption.

Samsung’s Announcement

Samsung Electronics has announced that the sleep apnea feature on its Samsung Health Monitor app has received De Novo authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This feature, which detects signs of sleep apnea using a compatible Samsung Galaxy Watch and phone, was the first of its kind to be authorized by the FDA following previous approval by Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), announced last October in Korea.

The sleep apnea feature enables users over the age of 22 who have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) over a two-night monitoring period. OSA is a common and chronic sleep condition that often goes undiagnosed and untreated. To use the feature, users can simply track their sleep twice for more than four hours within ten days.

OSA causes a person to stop breathing while sleeping and can often result in disruptions in oxygen supply, decreased sleep quality, and increased daytime fatigue. Untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, and stroke. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), roughly 25% of men and 10% of women in the U.S. experience OSA. The new feature on the Samsung Health Monitor app is expected to help more people proactively detect moderate or severe forms of OSA and seek medical care to reduce the possibility of health-related complications.

Good health is strongly linked to good sleep. Sleep helps bodies and minds recover and enables people to wake up refreshed and ready for the day ahead. The quality of sleep people get every night significantly impacts their physical and mental well-being, relationships, performance, and more. Samsung recognizes the fundamental role that sleep plays in people’s health and well-being by focusing on three key elements for better sleep: understanding sleep patterns, developing better habits, and creating a sleep-friendly environment.

With the sleep apnea feature, Samsung is taking the next step in its ongoing commitment to provide Galaxy users with the best possible sleep tools to improve their sleep health habits. The feature will be available on the Galaxy Watch series in the U.S. via the Samsung Health Monitor app in the third quarter.

The Sleep Apnea Feature is an over-the-counter (OTC) software-only, mobile medical application operating on a compatible Samsung Galaxy Watch and phone. This feature is intended to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adult users 22 years and older over a two-night monitoring period. It is intended for on-demand use and not for users previously diagnosed with sleep apnea.