Big changes for Discovery Vitality in South Africa
Discovery Vitality has been updated to include a new Vitality Sleep Score and a new Vitality Sleep Rewards programme.
The new launch is the first time in close to 20 years that Vitality has added a new core pillar to the programme, with the Sleep metric now alongside Screening, Physical Activity and Nutrition.
The launch introduces a new clinically meaningful metric that quantifies how sleep directly impacts mortality risk and long-term health, backed by research of over 47 million sleep records.
Discovery said that poor sleep has been shown to significantly increase the likelihood of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.
“We have long known that exercise, nutrition and screening are modifiable lifestyle behaviours, but the data is now unequivocal: sleep deserves to stand alongside them,” said Dinesh Govender, CEO of Discovery Vitality.
“Improving our members’ sleep is associated with up to a 24% lower risk of mortality and a 36% lower risk of motor vehicle accidents, potentially adding millions of healthy years across our member base.”
Govender added that the group’s Sleep Score goes beyond telling you how long you’ve slept and draws on extensive longitudinal health data, which focuses on aspects of sleep linked to long-term health outcomes.
He added that this data allows Discovery to translate everyday sleep behaviour into meaningful insights about future health.
The Vitality Sleep Score, which is rated out of 100, moves beyond measuring time in bed, analysing sleep duration, regularity and quality from members’ connected sleep devices.
It also uses Discovery’s data on clinical, demographic and lifestyle insights to deliver a personalised, health‑focused score.
This allows Discovery’s Vitality Sleep Score to weight different sleep dimensions based on the individual’s underlying health profile, resulting in a personalised score rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
The sleep rewards will apply the proven behavioural economics of Vitality Active Rewards, which reward members for staying active.
Members get dynamic, personalised weekly sleep goals. Reaching these goals, whether through improved bedtime regularity or optimal sleep duration, yields rewards.
Discovery will give customers instant rewards, letting them choose between Discovery Miles or a partner reward each week for hitting their goals.
Partnering with tech giants
Discovery members have also been able to get the Oura Ring 4 via an exclusive partnership with the Finnish company. Oura is the maker of the world’s leading smart ring for sleep tracking
Members with a qualifying Discovery Bank account can fully fund the device by achieving their weekly sleep goals.
Sleep tracking is also fully integrated with other leading devices, allowing members to track on their Apple Watch, Garmin, or Samsung devices to generate their Vitality Sleep Score.
“Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body daily,” said Dr Matt Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at UT Dallas.
“What Discovery is doing – placing sleep at the heart of their wellness ecosystem – is set to improve not just the lifespan of their members, but their healthspan.”
For members who do not use wearables, Vitality will soon make sleep tracking more accessible through the Vitality Sleep Tracker, set to go live in the next few months.
Members who opt in will be able to use their phone’s motion sensors, in conjunction with a proprietary algorithm, which will estimate when they go to sleep and wake up.
Discovery said the upcoming tracker will provide meaningful sleep insights without relying on a wearable device, enabling everyone to understand their sleep health.
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