Discovery’s New Dream: Turning Better Sleep Into Bigger Rewards

For years, Discovery has rewarded South Africans for exercising, eating right and driving safely. Now, the company wants to add one more healthy habit to the mix sleeping better.

The Science Of Sleep Meets Smart Rewards

Speaking at Discovery’s Sandton headquarters, Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner revealed that the company’s next big focus will be sleep. By analysing over 47 million nights of data from 100 000 members, Discovery found a strong link between good sleep and positive life outcomes including lower hospitalisation rates, fewer car accidents and even better decision-making.

“Sleep isn’t just about feeling rested,” said Kallner. “It influences how you drive, how you think, and even how you manage your money.”

The company’s findings come from one of the largest health and behavioural datasets in the world 1.4 petabytes of information linking physical activity, health outcomes, and now, sleep patterns.

The Sleep Score: Coming In 2026

In early 2026, Discovery Vitality will launch a personalised sleep score, currently in beta testing. Members will be able to track their nightly rest, receive tailored recommendations and earn rewards as their sleep improves.

The initiative ties into Discovery Health’s Personal Health Pathways, an AI-driven programme introduced earlier this year to guide members through personalised actions for better health.

According to Discovery Health CEO Ron Whelan, this marks a world first:

“Discovery will be the first health insurer globally to reward people for sleeping.”

Those who consistently improve their sleep score can expect benefits across the Discovery ecosystem from lower insurance premiums on Discovery Insure to potentially better financial incentives through Discovery Bank.

From Wearables To Wellness

To make sleep tracking easier, Discovery is partnering with Ōura, the Finnish health tech company behind the popular Ōura Ring. The ring, described as “a sleep lab on your finger”, allows high-resolution sleep monitoring.

The partnership comes as part of Discovery’s plan to expand access to health data through consumer wearables. For those without smartwatches or rings, Discovery will also roll out a Vitality Sleep Tracker via its mobile app next year.

Kate Wier, head of corporate sales at Ōura, described the collaboration as a way to make sleep health mainstream. “Wearables create awareness and access for consumers,” she said. “The Ōura ring makes advanced sleep science part of everyday life.”

Why Sleep Could Change Everything

In a country where stress and long work hours are common, Discovery’s push for better sleep taps into something deeply relatable for South Africans. Insufficient rest doesn’t just affect energy levels it’s tied to increased health risks like diabetes, poor concentration and road accidents.

By turning sleep into a measurable, rewarded activity, Discovery hopes to shift public behaviour the same way it did with fitness tracking a decade ago. It’s another step in what the company calls its “shared value” model where healthy habits benefit both members and the insurer.

{Source:Tech Central}

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