Galaxy Watch smartwatches will soon have another unusual health feature in the form of sleep apnea detection. Samsung announced in October 2023 that the feature had been approved by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It has now been approved by the FDA in the US.
Samsung says this feature is the “first of its kind” to receive FDA approval, which makes it a big deal. Not just for Samsung, but for anyone who might develop sleep apnea. If you don’t know what sleep apnea is, it’s a sleep disorder that can come in two different forms, obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive is more common, and this type essentially closes your airways, making it difficult to breathe. Central sleep apnea prevents your brain from sending signals to your breathing muscles.
In both ways, the affected person has sleep disorders. Which can have negative health effects in the long term. This new feature aims to help alert Galaxy Watch users to possible signs of sleep apnea so they can catch it earlier. There is no cure for sleep apnea, but it is possible to reduce its effects on you. CPAP machines are one way to do this. They stimulate positive airflow, keeping the airways open during sleep. And with this new watch feature, you might be able to find out sooner if you need it.
Galaxy Watch’s sleep apnea feature will only detect obstructive sleep apnea
Now that you know what the two types of sleep apnea are, here’s what you can expect from the feature on Samsung watches. It will try to detect signs of obstructive sleep apnea over a two-night cycle. Users will need to enable sleep tracking on the watch and track their sleep for at least four hours. This should be done twice within ten days, as Samsung says. The watch will monitor signs for people over the age of 22 who have not yet been diagnosed with sleep apnea. According to Samsung’s press release, this feature will only detect OSA, not CSA. However, this feature will be able to detect signs of moderate to severe OSA.
This disorder often goes unnoticed and untreated, so Samsung is trying to help people recognize this disorder more often. Sleep is a very important part of good health, which is why Samsung and other brands are so focused on providing better sleep monitoring features in their wearables. From REM sleep tracking to tips on how to improve your sleep in the future.
The feature will require a compatible Galaxy phone
Of course, you’ll need a compatible Galaxy device to use the new sleep apnea feature when it comes online. However, Samsung isn’t saying when the feature will roll out or which phones will need to be paired with one of its watches. Also, it doesn’t mention which watches will support the feature.
However, it’s pretty certain that newer watches will be compatible. This would likely include the Galaxy Watch 6 Series and the Galaxy Watch 5 Series. You can also expect support for the Galaxy S24 series and Galaxy S23 series with the phones. However, it is very likely that many other Samsung Galaxy phones will also be compatible.
2024-02-10 00:10:27
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