Discovery has partnered with an American tech firm, Oura, to bring the company’s popular health-tracking ring to South Africa for the first time. The collaboration forms part of Discovery Vitality’s new: “sleep score” initiative, which rewards users for better sleep habits using behavioural incentives.

Oura claims that its ring measures sleep stages, heart rate, and temperature with an accuracy rate of 98%. The ring will be offered exclusively to Discovery Health and Vitality members. Discovery will cover both the R8 600 cost of the ring and Oura’s subscription fee.

Discovery analysed 47 million nights of sleep data and found that good sleep reduced mortality by 24% and hospital costs by 7%. The group now plans to integrate sleep metrics into its insurance and health programmes, predicting savings of up to R1.1 billion if members improve their rest.