Discovery has unveiled a global first: the integration of sleep into its health, wellness and insurance frameworks.
The announcement coincides with the launch of Discovery’s research report, The Sleep Factor: A data-led blueprint for better health, which underscores sleep’s critical role in longevity, chronic disease prevention, and road safety.
At the company’s inaugural Sleep Summit on 7 October, Discovery executives and health experts presented data showing that sleep has a measurable and wide-ranging impact on physical and mental health. The report, based on more than 47 million sleep records enriched with clinical and behavioural data, positions sleep alongside exercise and nutrition as a key pillar of health.
ŌURA Ring partnership for Vitality members
As part of this initiative, Discovery Vitality announced a partnership with global health technology company ŌURA. From the middle of this month, select styles of the ŌURA Ring 4 will be available to Vitality members with a qualifying Discovery Bank account, marking the product’s first availability in South Africa.
Eligible members will be able to access the device either through a fully funded benefit or at discount of up to 25%. A penalty-free introductory period will apply until 1 April 2026, after which monthly payments will depend on members achieving their sleep goals.
The ŌURA Ring’s data will feed into Discovery’s upcoming Vitality Sleep Score and Vitality Sleep Rewards, launching in 2026. These programmes will allow members to track sleep duration, regularity, and quality via wearables or mobile phones and earn rewards for meeting personalised weekly sleep goals.
Discovery confirmed that sleep tracking will also be integrated into Discovery Health’s Personal Health Pathways and Discovery Insure’s Vitality Drive, expanding the ability to reward healthier lifestyles and safer driving.
Sleep as a clinical and economic imperative
Dr Mosima Mabunda, the chief clinical officer at Vitality, said Discovery’s analysis highlights that one in two Vitality members have at least one sleep metric out of range, while those with insufficient or irregular sleep face a 22% higher risk of early death.
“Sleep is not a luxury; it’s a clinical imperative,” she said.
The report found that individuals sleeping less than six hours a night face markedly higher risks of chronic and mental health conditions than those sleeping seven to eight hours. According to Discovery Health Medical Scheme data, they have a 65% higher risk of diabetes, a 41% higher risk of obesity, a 33% higher risk of coronary heart disease, and a 20% higher risk of depressive symptoms.
Claims for sleep disorders have increased nearly threefold since 2008, with insomnia accounting for more than half of those claims in 2024. Obstructive sleep apnoea was identified as the fastest-growing condition.
Discovery Health’s chief executive, Dr Ron Whelan, said the findings make sleep one of the strongest predictors of chronic disease and mental health challenges.
“We cannot afford to overlook sleep in our approach to prevention and healthcare,” he said.
Sleep and road safety
Discovery Insure’s data shows that sleep is a five times stronger predictor of vehicle accident risk than demographic or credit factors. Drivers who sleep four to five hours a night face a 4.3 times higher accident risk, while sufficient and regular sleep reduces that risk by more than a third.
“Driving safety starts long before you get behind the wheel,” said Robert Attwell, the chief executive of Discovery Insure. He noted that the integration of sleep metrics into the Vitality Drive programme would further incentivise safe driving and “make roads safer for everyone”.
Broader health implications
Experts at the Sleep Summit described sleep as “active biology” essential for brain function, decision-making, and long-term resilience.
Dr Nadine Rampf, an Associate Professor at Stellenbosch University, told attendees that protecting sleep is “one of the most powerful predictors of long-term health and longevity”.
Discovery’s data suggests that improving both the duration and regularity of sleep can reverse increased mortality risks, reinforcing the idea that sleep is a modifiable, health-improving behaviour.
Discovery Vitality’s chief executive, Dinesh Govender, said the evidence indicates that sleep is a cornerstone of preventive care.
“Nutrition and physical activity are well-established pillars of prevention. This evidence shows that sleep is equally critical and must be prioritised in clinical care, workplace well-being programmes, and individual behaviour,” he said.
In a video address, Dr Matt Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, commended Discovery’s approach: “They are truly placing sleep at the very heart of how we understand health and wellness. This approach is set to improve not only the longevity and lifespan of their members, but also the quality of those years – their health-span.”
Tracking and rewarding better sleep
Members will be able to track their sleep using wearable devices – including Apple, Garmin, Samsung, or the new ŌURA Ring 4 – or through the in-app Vitality Sleep Tracker on mobile phones.
This data will generate a personalised Vitality Sleep Score, a proprietary measure of the causal impact of sleep on a person’s health risk. The score consolidates complex information on sleep regularity, duration and quality, combined with demographic, clinical and lifestyle factors, into a simple metric that helps members to understand and improve their sleep health.
The accompanying Vitality Sleep Rewards programme will function similarly to Vitality Active Rewards, incentivising members to improve their sleep duration, regularity, and quality. Each week, members will receive dynamic sleep goals tailored to their individual sleep patterns and health profiles. As they track their sleep nightly, their Sleep Score will be calculated using clinically validated metrics to assess quality and guide improvement.
Sleep Scores that fall within optimal ranges contribute towards achieving a weekly goal, and members who meet their targets will earn Vitality Sleep Rewards, redeemable as Discovery Miles or partner rewards.
Discovery said the aim is to make sleep a measurable and incentivised health behaviour
