Health Advisory: Sleep Apps and Devices that Self-Assess Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

You can now download apps or buy devices without a prescription to self-assess your risk of obstructive sleep apnea. These include many smartwatches, phone apps, and other devices that you can wear or place in your bedroom. Some of these apps and devices are cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sleep apnea self‐screening or risk assessment.1

These apps and devices can provide useful information about your sleep. However, it is important for you to understand that even the FDA‐cleared apps and devices have some limitations:

  • They vary in how they assess your risk of sleep apnea.
  • There are significant differences in their accuracy.
  • Most of them are unable to tell the difference between obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems during sleep such as central sleep apnea.
  • They are unable to diagnose sleep apnea or confirm its absence.

If you think that you may have sleep apnea, then you should talk to a health care professional. Additional information about sleep health team members and accredited sleep centers is available through the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.2,3

Summary:

  • Self‐screening and risk assessment apps and devices are unable to diagnose sleep apnea or confirm its absence.
  • You should talk to a health care professional about your risk of sleep apnea.
  • Additional sleep health information is available through the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.2,3

References

  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Product classification. Over‐the‐counter device to assess risk of sleep apnea.
    https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpcd/classification.cfm?id=213
  2. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Patient information.
    https://aasm.org/clinical-resources/patient-info/
  3. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sleep center directory.
    https://sleepeducation.org/sleep-center/

Adopted by the AASM Executive Committee on behalf of the Board of Directors: Jan. 10, 2025

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is a professional society that advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives (aasm.org).

A searchable directory of AASM-accredited sleep centers is available at sleepeducation.org.