Simple home tests for indication sleep apnea?

Posted by robertwills @robertwills, Sep 4, 2024

Anything new on the market or discovered to be a good indicator?

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I've seen a few FDA approved devices for a home sleep apnea test for a little less than $200 but I'm not sure how accurate they are for detecting sleep apnea. I think they only measure breathing. Here's some information that might be helpful if you are shopping for one of these tests.

-- What to Know About an At-Home Sleep Test:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/what-to-know-about-an-at-home-sleep-test

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I recommend getting a nocturnal pulse oximetry test ordered by your Dr. You just wear a pulse ox sensor on your finger all night, it’s recorded overnight and if you have significant drops in oxygen levels you may have sleep apnea and get can get a sleep study done. If oxygen levels stay up in normal range sleep apnea is highly unlikely. This is so much simpler, done at home, way less expensive and a good screening test. If you sleep with someone else, they can tell you if snoring, gasping and stopping breathing are happening. Their input is invaluable.

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I just saw on television and then looked up online that Apple today unveiled the new Apple watch Series 10 which they say can detect possible sleep apnea (available on 9/20 starting at US$400.00) .Apparently it was tested well and they expected FDA approval soon.

Does anyone know if there's anything else on the market that can do this? At least with the watch it's a possible indication and you het all the other features. I would say it's a great value, if it's accurate in detection.

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@robertwills

I just saw on television and then looked up online that Apple today unveiled the new Apple watch Series 10 which they say can detect possible sleep apnea (available on 9/20 starting at US$400.00) .Apparently it was tested well and they expected FDA approval soon.

Does anyone know if there's anything else on the market that can do this? At least with the watch it's a possible indication and you het all the other features. I would say it's a great value, if it's accurate in detection.

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Hi Robert. I just saw the article this morning about Apple Watches detecting possible sleep apnea! Brilliant idea and a potential life saver for so many people. The watches can already check for heart issues such as A-fib, records sleep patterns, mobility, besides the standard health/fitness statistics. (Plus it’s a phone, camera, compass, calendar, messages…it mimics the iphone).

I read up a little more in a couple geeky sites and Apple.com to see this will be installed as an update, when approved by the FDA, in the new Apple 10 series, plus Apple 9 and Apple Ultra 2 watches. From my understanding there are other smart watches and apps that can record sleep habits but so far nothing as sophisticated as what this Apple metric can provide.
I have the Series 9 watch and absolutely love this device. It was well worth the price and it pairs perfectly with my iPhone and other Apple products. By the way, an Apple Watch requires an iPhone to set it up.

My doctor wants to check me for sleep apnea, so I’m actually now looking forward to the update for the detection notification. So far everything else in my watch has been highly accurate. I’d anticipate this new function could be a real game changer to alert people to sleep apnea without the heavy cost of a night or two at a sleep clinic.
Is sleep apnea a concern for you?

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@loribmt

Hi Robert. I just saw the article this morning about Apple Watches detecting possible sleep apnea! Brilliant idea and a potential life saver for so many people. The watches can already check for heart issues such as A-fib, records sleep patterns, mobility, besides the standard health/fitness statistics. (Plus it’s a phone, camera, compass, calendar, messages…it mimics the iphone).

I read up a little more in a couple geeky sites and Apple.com to see this will be installed as an update, when approved by the FDA, in the new Apple 10 series, plus Apple 9 and Apple Ultra 2 watches. From my understanding there are other smart watches and apps that can record sleep habits but so far nothing as sophisticated as what this Apple metric can provide.
I have the Series 9 watch and absolutely love this device. It was well worth the price and it pairs perfectly with my iPhone and other Apple products. By the way, an Apple Watch requires an iPhone to set it up.

My doctor wants to check me for sleep apnea, so I’m actually now looking forward to the update for the detection notification. So far everything else in my watch has been highly accurate. I’d anticipate this new function could be a real game changer to alert people to sleep apnea without the heavy cost of a night or two at a sleep clinic.
Is sleep apnea a concern for you?

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Thank you for the information. I am looking for a simple, inexpensive device, that can only detect possible sleep apnea. I don't need all the features of the watch. In fact I have a digital watch that only tells time and has a stop watch, nothing more. It's several years old, cost under $10 and is perfect for my needs. I was just wondering if a similar technology was anywhere else. It looks like Apple is the only thing right now.

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@robertwills

Thank you for the information. I am looking for a simple, inexpensive device, that can only detect possible sleep apnea. I don't need all the features of the watch. In fact I have a digital watch that only tells time and has a stop watch, nothing more. It's several years old, cost under $10 and is perfect for my needs. I was just wondering if a similar technology was anywhere else. It looks like Apple is the only thing right now.

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Hi Robert, I found a couple of websites online that discuss sleep apnea apps for Android and iOS phones. Here is one link that might be worth exploring?
The 4 Best Sleep Apnea Apps for Android and iOS https://shuteye.ai/blog/sleep-apnea-apps

You have a digital watch that ONLY tells time and has a stop watch? Is that even possible anymore? 😅 Kidding, of course. My husband and I are always marveling at the technology available in our iPhones. We really only needed the phone…or so we thought. The camera on my phone is better than my old SLR!
We remember being kids and thinking the coolest thing was our transistor radio the size of the Kellogg Mini Cereal boxes back then. Now our phones have more computing capacity than the technology used for the Apollo Space program!

Let me know if you find a good app that you can download. Another inexpensive test to check for Sleep Apnea is a home oximeter overnight test. My doctor arranged that test for me from my local hospital. It was a simple oximeter clamped to my finger overnight that sent readings to a little recorder strapped to my wrist. That was only around $100.00 for the test if I remember and insurance picked it up. Have you tried that?

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@robertwills

I just saw on television and then looked up online that Apple today unveiled the new Apple watch Series 10 which they say can detect possible sleep apnea (available on 9/20 starting at US$400.00) .Apparently it was tested well and they expected FDA approval soon.

Does anyone know if there's anything else on the market that can do this? At least with the watch it's a possible indication and you het all the other features. I would say it's a great value, if it's accurate in detection.

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Thank you for the links. I am looking for something easy to use and reliable as to sleep apnea detection. It looks like Apple is at the forefront.

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If you sleep 8 hours a night but a snore app indicates you snore fairly loudly a total of 2 hours during your sleep is this indicative of sleep apnea?

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@robertwills

If you sleep 8 hours a night but a snore app indicates you snore fairly loudly a total of 2 hours during your sleep is this indicative of sleep apnea?

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Please, if you have this many concerns about sleep apnea, go get a sleep study done.

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@robertwills

If you sleep 8 hours a night but a snore app indicates you snore fairly loudly a total of 2 hours during your sleep is this indicative of sleep apnea?

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Possibly. At the very least, you may experience was is called 'hypopnea', which is one of the components in the AHI or the 'apnea/hypopnea index'. AHI is what the medical field uses to establish one's need for intervention. If the count is higher than 5 events per hour, or in any one hour, it could indicate a need for PAP use.

As the person who just replied to you has suggested, the gold standard is an over-night sleep lab, the procedure called a 'polysomnography', where you get a gajillion electric leads placed all over your body, including onto your scalp and legs, and you try to sleep so that you can be monitored. I developed atrial fibrillation (AF) and it was the last diagnostic step proposed by my cardiologist. The result was 'severe sleep apnea', which is when one had 30 events each hour or more. I was counted at 31 events.

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