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Get paid to stay in shape? What a concept!
Maybe the Health Promotion Board did Get it right, though: after all, our brains are hardwired to react to tangible tax rewards. If free money doesn’t motivate Singaporeans to get off our couches and start being active (in a socially distanced way), what will?
I’m talking about LumiHealth, Singapore’s latest effort to get citizens in shape through a unique partnership between the government and Apple.
While the program does involve rewarding you with vouchers (worth up to $ 380!) For completing personal activity goals and weekly challenges, the barrier to entry can be a roadblock for some – an Apple Watch is absolutely required to participate.
The marketing spiel is that LumiHealth was developed with the help of doctors and public health experts, and was specifically designed to work so that health and wellness monitoring works seamlessly with Apple watches and iPhones.
The challenges would supposedly have users walk, swim, jog, and do other sweat-inducing things to score points. You see, the process is gamified – closing rings and completing tasks feed your little LumiHealth avatar to hit milestones and get coins.
The more coins you have, the more cash vouchers you get that you can spend at various retail partners, including 7-Eleven, Cold Storage, NTUC Fairprice, Watsons, and Swensen’s.
As the owner of an Apple Watch that has signed up for the program, I am here to tell you that yes, LumiHealth works. I’ve been using it since the app launched in late October, and so far I’ve received $ 21 in exchange for shedding sweat and sore muscles.
And, heads up, it is much easier than one might think to complete the challenges. Some of the tasks you must accomplish include going to sleep with the clock on, keeping a negative thought journal, or simply refraining from so-called distractions like playing games or watching TV. No loss of sweat on those tasks.
Seeing that video games, bingeing on The Crown, and wallowing in dark thoughts (always good for keeping your ego in check) are personal daily necessities, I found out they weren’t. Really I have to follow what LumiHealth tells me to do to indicate that I did it. All I had to do was manually tap the “I did this” button although I didn’t, although I suppose there is no way to realistically monitor this.
What really helped, though, is the various activity challenges that will really require some exercise and training to meet – that is, you can’t fool these. It takes a real commitment (ugh, I know) to complete the challenges that read your Apple Watch’s exercise ring data.
You get a lot of points if you manage to complete your Activity, Exercise and Standing rings several times a week, so doing this often equates to faster coupon acquisition.
Plus, they are doable, really, especially if you already exercise regularly. For those who aren’t, it’s a good way to just get up and move, because closing the rings is as easy as going for a brisk walk for half an hour or so.
In addition to the usual reminders to exercise and be well, LumiHealth will also convince users to undergo health screenings and vaccinations. Oh yeah, you get in-app points for that too, right? I haven’t tried it yet.
Of course, the real reward is a healthier and fitter person. Earning $ 21 pales in comparison to the 5kg I’ve lost since I started committing to the app, but hey, I’ll take all the free money I can get while doing it.
