How can you use an pulse oximeter to detect sleep apnea?

Recorder: A meter alone will not do. It must have a means of recording data. Used alone or is a useful tool but will not permit a diagnosis of sleep apnea. One must have a polysomnigram (sleep study) to diagnose slept apnea. See your physician for a referral to a sleep doc.

Not the best: Way to diagnose but you can definately screen your resting spo2 should be between 96-99% but a psg is way more diagnostic.

Non-definitive test: If you have sleep apnea severe enough to significantly lower you blood oxygen level, a pulse oximeter will record how low and how long your oxygen level decreases. It will not detect early cases, which can be screened with a simple questionnaire called "stop-bang" which has a scoring system to assess the risk of true sleep apnea.