I tried using LumiHealth with my Apple Watch. 10/10 would recommend for an all-round healthier lifestyle.

Embarking on a healthier lifestyle doesn’t have to involve a drastic first step.

| Low Jia Ying | Sponsored | October 19, 2022, 11:00 AM

I have to admit that after more than two years of Covid-19 restrictions and working from home, I have become a less active person.

The disruptions to my usual routines meant that I was thrown off my regular exercise and sleep schedules.

And that’s just the start. I’ve also long abandoned healthier eating habits and taking time out to care for my well-being.

Yet even though restrictions have eased and life has mostly returned to normal, I found myself struggling to embark on a healthier lifestyle again.

Picking up my running shoes and heading for a 5km run – which felt so easy at the peak of my health – now seemed so dreadful and daunting.

I’ve felt a lot of inertia trying to get back on track and adopt healthier habits again.

So when I was trying out the LumiHealth programme, which was designed by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB), in conjunction with Apple, I was interested to see if this could be my way in to kickstart an all-round healthier lifestyle.

Here’s how that went.

Personalised health and well-being challenges

I paired my Apple Watch with my iPhone and downloaded the free LumiHealth app onto my iPhone.

After signing up using my SingPass and filling up some other personal details, I answered a few quick questions about what I hoped to achieve from LumiHealth.

Screenshot via LumiHealth App

I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were so many aspects of health that were considered by LumiHealth, beyond just staying in shape.

What stuck out to me was that this was a lot different from the other health and fitness apps I’ve used in the past, where it would focus on just one aspect of health – such as diet, exercise, or meditation.

LumiHealth has a broader view on health, as there were challenges that encouraged me to adopt better sleep habits, make healthier food choices, and to maintain my mental well-being.

I selected my interests, and was all ready to start.

Just like that, I had completed my first challenge and was awarded 2,500 points.

Points help LumiHealth’s mascot “Lu” move forward in his journey, and he rewards you with coins when he reaches certain milestones along the way.

LumiHealth’s mascot “Lu"

Coins can be collected and traded in for HPB e-vouchers to be used at a variety of merchants, such as supermarkets, convenience stores and restaurants.

Encouraged by how easy I had completed that first challenge, I decided to start another one.

Mindfulness

This time, I received a wellness challenge, “Join Minutes to Mindfulness”, where I had to try to get 5 minutes of mindfulness everyday.

I tried this out when I was at the office one day.

I plopped onto a soft bean bag in a quiet corner in my office, and clocked in 5 minutes of Mindfulness using my Apple Watch’s mindfulness feature.

Using the “Breathe” function, I took some deep breaths by following the animations on my Apple Watch.

Apple Watch’s mindfulness feature

On days when I decided to clock in a quick mindfulness break, I was calmer and could think more clearly – which helped a lot with managing my different tasks at work.

This was something that I could easily incorporate into my daily routine.

Staying Active

As I’ve mentioned, getting fit again was a daunting task for me, so I was curious to see if and how LumiHealth could help me get back on track.

One of the first challenges was to complete my “Stand” goal four times a week using my Apple Watch.

This meant that I had to stand and move for at least a minute during 12 different hours in a day.

In the middle of the workday I felt a buzz from my Apple Watch reminding me that it was time to stand up.

I took this opportunity to get up from my desk and walk to my office’s pantry, where I could stand and work.

Complete your “Stand” goal four times a week using the Apple Watch

This was really easy to do, and I enjoyed the change of scenery from my usual spot at my desk.

This was simple enough to incorporate into my workday, and after reading about the health risks of sitting for long hours at a time, I was encouraged to keep to this habit.

Nutrition

Another one of the challenges was, “Ditch those sweet nothings”.

For this challenge, I had to cut back on sugary drinks.

The best way for me to complete this challenge was to opt for a healthier drink from my office pantry, instead of the sugary packet drink I usually opt for.

On one afternoon, instead of my usual sugary chrysanthemum tea, I reached out for a lowered-sugar green tea drink.

Having a lowered-sugar drink for the “Ditch those sweet nothings” challenge

I still managed to get my midday fix, but saved myself the extra sugar.

Sleep

Staying up late mindlessly scrolling through social media or watching shows has undoubtedly ruined my quality of sleep, and often left me feeling sluggish the next morning.

LumiHealth prompted me to adopt better sleep habits, such as by getting into the habit of winding down before bed, so I can fall asleep easier and at my preferred bedtime.

Using the LumiHealth App to track your sleep

On nights when I ditched my phone and laptop and took some time to wind down before bed, I was able to get less interrupted sleep, meaning that my quality of sleep was better.

Through another LumiHealth challenge, I have also learned how Sleep Tracking on my Apple Watch can help me in meeting my sleep goals so I started using it.

I could get more insights into how my current sleeping habits were affecting my health, and if getting a better night of sleep would help improve it.

Wearing an Apple Watch to sleep was easy to get used to after a couple of nights. I also started looking forward to viewing my sleep trends before I got into the office.

Knowing that I’ve had good sleep the night before helped me feel motivated to start my day, and to continue to practise better sleep habits.

Taking care of my health in an easy and accessible way

When taken individually, these small challenges and prompts seemed like insignificant changes to my daily life.

But after using the app for a little more than two weeks and incorporating these actions into my everyday life, I realised I had more energy and was more motivated to improve my health.

I also appreciated how it didn’t launch me into a whole fitness and workout regime, but started everything off slowly so I could get accustomed to moving just a little bit more than I was the previous week.

This was just the small push I needed to get started on being healthy again.

This is a sponsored article by Health Promotion Board.