Sleep apnea affects millions of people worldwide, yet roughly 80% of cases remain undiagnosed because the condition occurs while you're asleep. However, new research suggests your smartwatch or sleep tracker might hold the key to spotting warning signs before a formal diagnosis, potentially changing how people detect this serious sleep disorder. Why Is Sleep Apnea So Hard to Detect? Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep, causing brief awakenings that disrupt your rest. The challenge is simple: you don't know it's happening because you're asleep when it occurs. "For years, the inconvenience of an in-lab clinical sleep study has been a barrier to diagnosing sleep apnea," explained behavioral sleep scientist Dr. Vanessa Hill to Samsung. Traditional diagnosis requires spending a night in a sleep clinic hooked up to monitoring equipment, a process that has kept many people from seeking help. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's Obstructive Sleep Apnea National Indicator Report, an estimated 80% of sleep apnea sufferers don't even know they have the condition. This widespread underdiagnosis means millions of people are living with untreated sleep apnea, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and daytime accidents. What Sleep Tracker Metrics Should You Monitor? The good news is that wearable technology is democratizing the first step of detection. Samsung's research found that roughly 23% of survey participants showed signs of being at risk for sleep apnea, though many weren't aware of it. Sleep trackers can now monitor multiple metrics that together paint a picture of whether sleep apnea might be disrupting your rest. Dr. Vanessa Hill notes that "sleep apnea affects many dimensions of sleep: duration, quality, sleep efficiency and even daytime fatigue". Rather than relying on a single metric like snoring, experts recommend looking at a combination of indicators: - REM Sleep Duration: People with OSA get approximately four minutes less REM sleep due to frequent awakenings, which is critical for memory and emotional regulation. - Deep Sleep Time: Those with sleep apnea experience roughly eight minutes less deep sleep, the most restorative stage of the sleep cycle. - Nighttime Awakenings: Frequent interruptions throughout the night, even if you don't remember them, suggest your breathing may be pausing and restarting. - Snore Detection: While not everyone with sleep apnea snores loudly, snoring remains a hallmark sign that warrants investigation. - Overall Sleep Time: Reduced total sleep hours combined with other metrics can indicate sleep quality issues beyond simple fatigue. "Wearable technology such as Galaxy Watch is a breakthrough because it democratizes that first step, allowing people to gather meaningful data from their own beds and providing a starting point for a conversation with a healthcare professional," Dr. Hill explained. The Galaxy Watch's Sleep Apnea feature uses BioActive Sensors to monitor blood oxygen levels, which can drop during breathing pauses. How to Use Your Sleep Tracker to Spot Potential Sleep Apnea - Check Your Sleep Stage Breakdown: Review your tracker's data on time spent in REM and deep sleep stages. If these are consistently lower than normal, combined with frequent awakenings, it may warrant a conversation with your doctor. - Track Nighttime Interruptions: Look for patterns of frequent awakenings throughout the night. Your tracker may show these as "sleep fragmentation" or "sleep efficiency" scores that are lower than expected. - Monitor Blood Oxygen Levels: If your wearable tracks oxygen saturation (SpO2), watch for dips below normal ranges, which can indicate breathing pauses during sleep. - Note Daytime Symptoms: Use your tracker's notes feature to log daytime fatigue, morning headaches, or dry mouth, which are common signs of poor sleep quality from apnea. - Share Data With Your Doctor: Bring your sleep tracker data to your healthcare provider as a starting point for discussion about whether a formal sleep study is needed. Joshua Piper, Sleep Clinician at ResMed UK, describes snoring as the "hallmark of sleep apnea," but emphasizes that subtler indicators are often overlooked. Dr. Carlos Nunez, Sleep Health Expert and Chief Medical Officer at ResMed, points out a critical distinction: "Just because your tracker says you're sleeping enough hours, if you have something like sleep apnea, every one of those hours, you're actually suffocating, not sleeping". What Other Warning Signs Should You Watch For? Beyond what your tracker shows, pay attention to symptoms you experience during waking hours. According to the National Institute of Health, common signs include frequent loud snoring, gasping for air, and breathing that stops and starts. Less obvious symptoms include waking with a dry mouth, daytime fatigue, morning headaches, insomnia, and frequent nighttime urination. Family members often notice sleep apnea before the person affected does. Dr. Nunez notes that "it's usually that family member who's close to you who says, 'Hey, you have a problem'". If loved ones mention your snoring or observe you gasping for air during sleep, that's a signal to discuss sleep apnea screening with your doctor. How Telehealth Is Making Sleep Apnea Diagnosis More Accessible Beyond wearable detection, companies are bridging the gap between home monitoring and professional care. Withings recently announced a partnership with Dune Health to create Sleep Care Solutions, combining sleep tracker data with telemedicine access to sleep specialists. In 2025, the Withings sleep and health database detected signs of sleep apnea in 35% of users in the United States, correlating to roughly 2 million nights of disrupted sleep. Through the Withings app, users can now contact sleep medicine specialists using data collected by their sleep tracker to identify issues and create long-term treatment plans. This model addresses the original barrier to diagnosis: the inconvenience and cost of in-lab sleep studies. "Research supported by connected devices, combined with the expertise of sleep specialists, creates an opportunity to improve sleep care, address long-term health risks, and deliver a more personalized health experience," according to Dr. Singh, a Cardiologist and Special Medical Advisor. The convergence of wearable technology and telehealth represents a significant shift in how sleep disorders are detected and managed. If your sleep tracker shows signs of potential sleep apnea, the next step is straightforward: share that data with your healthcare provider and discuss whether a formal evaluation is warranted. Early detection could prevent years of undiagnosed sleep disruption and its associated health risks.
