Sleep Apnea detection available to Apple Watch users in MENA region

Update (17th December 2024): Following recent updates released for watchOS, Sleep Apnea tracking has expanded to additional countries in the Middle East: Egypt, Qatar, and UAE.

This is after gaining market authorization from the respective health authorities leading up to the release of the watchOS update.

This brings it to a total of eight countries that can use the feature.

The Apple Watch has proven to be quite a ubiquitious product that is putting health at the centre focus of its daily usage. They brought AFib and Heart Rate monitoring to the MENA region with successive watchOS updates. Now you can add Sleep Apnea tracking coinciding with the release of watchOS 11.

From the recent Glowtime keynote, Apple announced that it would be widely available across 150+ countries worldwide. Good news is that there are some from the Middle East region that can use it.

Detecting Sleep Apnea

In a nutshell: sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts while they sleep. The feature was made by using the Apple Watch’s accelerometer to track small movements associated with interruptions in breathing patterns. According to Apple, frequent disturbances occuring over multiple nights may be associated with sleep apnea.

This is done by using a newly-introduced metric Breathing Disturbances, which can be viewed in the Health app on the iPhone and disturbances would be classified as “elevated” or “not elevated.” The data can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.

Rather than using a blood oxygen sensor, Apple says the feature was developed using “advanced machine learning” and an “extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests,” and then validated in a “clinical study.” Apple’s fine print says the feature is intended to detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea for people 18 years old or older who have not already been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

The sleep apnea notifications algorithm analyzes breathing disturbance data every 30 days, so Apple Watch can notify a user if it identifies signs of sleep apnea. The notification includes the time period when potential sleep apnea occurred and educational materials on the importance of seeking treatment, along with a PDF providing three months of breathing disturbance data, notification details, and additional information to reference during a conversation with a healthcare provider.

Rollout with watchOS

While the feature is part of watchOS 11, it does require clearances from the respective global health authorities for its availability. The feature will be available on the Apple Watch Series 10 at launch, and on the following devices after updating to watchOS 11: Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

As of the initial launch, the feature is available across the following Middle East countries (according to Apple’s website): Iraq, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Expect it to expand availability with future watchOS updates.