DO I REALLY NEED...

A sensor to detect sleep problems

This week: sunrise, £89, sunrise-sleep.com CLAIM: This sensor, attached to your chin with a sticky strip, monitors jaw movements and ‘respiratory effort, a key indicator for doctors to establish sleep apnoea diagnosis’. This data is sent to an app for your phone. Sleep apnoea affects up to two million people in Britain and occurs when the muscles in the airway, which relax as we fall asleep, collapse, which can interrupt breathing and cause snoring. EXPERT VERDICT: Dr Ari Manuel, a respiratory and sleep consultant at Spire Liverpool Hospital, says sleep apnoea could be undiagnosed in about eight million people.

‘Because those with it have interrupted sleep, they might fall asleep during the day which can be dangerous if, for example, they are driving or operating machinery,’ he says.

‘The condition is typically diagnosed after a referral to a sleep clinic where a patient undergoes a polysomnography, the goldstandard test. They are connected by wires to multiple sensors and a monitor, which check their brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate and breathing. ‘In a 2020 study in 376 patients, this Sunrise device was found to be as effective as polysomnography, but more research is needed. ‘It is easy to use and may help you detect breathing problems. It assumes when you are snoring or breathing abnormally, your jaw juts forward.

‘However, I am concerned it would over-detect sleep apnoea — you might just be someone who sleeps with your mouth open rather than closed.’

Research published last year in the journal Jama Network Open (involving the maker of Sunrise) suggests jaw movement is a reliable measure of respiratory function.

‘It is worth trying. If you suspect you have a problem, it may be the push you need to see a specialist,’ adds Dr Manuel.