MHM Magazine

Of course, waking up refreshed improves mood, decision-making, and productivity, helping people feel more engaged in both their work and personal lives. Interestingly, Discovery Insure data shows, sleep is five times more predictive of motor vehicle accident risk than demographic or credit factors. Drivers who get adequate and regular sleep significantly reduce the risk of having a car accident by up to 36%. Sleep as a modifiable health behaviour: Bringing sleep into preventive care While our findings align well with global clinical research on sleep, the extent and nature of the data analysed and the causal inference modelling approach - linking medical scheme claims data, with biometric data and wearable data - make this a unique and powerful analysis. At Discovery, our core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. Integrating sleep into our preventive healthcare efforts builds directly on this purpose, turning sleep into a measurable and incentivised behaviour that helps reduce chronic disease, improve mental wellbeing, and extend healthy lifespan. From 2026, Discovery Health Medical Scheme will become the first health insurer globally to reward members for improving their sleep, integrating sleep as a key behaviour within our Personal Health Pathways platform. Through this initiative, members will receive personalised sleep goals, progress tracking, access to clinical screening for sleep disorders, and rewards for sustained improvement. The approach builds on the Shared-value Insurance model that underpins all Discovery programmes: when members adopt healthier behaviours, they live longer, more productive lives - and the broader healthcare system benefits too. Healthcare professionals now also have opportunity to reframe sleep as a core health metric with the same focus we’ve long applied to other critical health behaviours such as healthy eating and exercise. Health professionals are encouraged to: • Integrate healthy sleep into routine care • Screen for sleep disorders, especially in patients with chronic conditions • Educate patients on sleep hygiene and behavioural interventions • Recognise sleep deprivation as a health risk, particularly in high-risk populations such as shift workers and drivers. Sleep is biology’s innate regenerative process. Our focus on sleep reinforces our commitment to data-led innovation and the pursuit of better health for medical scheme members, with a ripple effect that benefits the societies in which we live and work. References available on request. Issue 5 | 2025 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 19 MHM