Transformative Insights

The programme is provided by The Power of Lifestyle Academy (a Transformative Insights organisation) in partnership with Firstbeat.

The Academy was founded by Erik van den Top who is a leading Functional Wellness Specialist and Professional Coach.

The programme is informed by up-to-date research and based on similar programmes run by Firstbeat and other Firstbeat Partners around the world.

Over 300,000 employees have improved their well-being with Firstbeat powered initiatives, at organisations such as BMW, SAP, KPMG, Canon, EY, Unilever and Heineken and by a growing number of leading organisations in New Zealand.

You can find out more about us and the wellness specialists you will be working with here.

You need to set aside around 1.5 hours each week for things like keeping the measurement journal, engaging with the online resources, attending one-hour seminars, connecting with one of us for a one-to-one session and to get together with your accountability team.

Other than the seminars, you decide the when and where and therefore most participants find it relatively easy to fit participation in their work and life schedule.

Naturally, on top of that, you will need to commit time and effort to fine-tuning your lifestyle and adopting new routines / practices.

Less is more however, and for most participants focussing on just the "vital few" lifestyle choices is enough to achieve a big improvement.

If you have been invited by your employer, you can participate!

This includes employees who work remotely as the programme is 100% virtual.

The only exception: a Firstbeat Life measurement is not recommended if you have a pacemaker, a heart transplant, a heart condition, chronic atrial fibrillation / atrial flutter or uncontrolled thyroid dysfunction as these conditions can affect the results.

The measurement device is safe to wear during pregnancy and intensive work or sport.

Programmes continue to run during COVID-19 as they are provided virtually. Your measurement device is brand new and, during raised Alert Levels, is couriered straight to your home address.

Making lifestyle changes and making them stick tends to be quite a challenge for us all. The programme leverages the latest research from behavioural change science to create optimal conditions for generating lasting change.

Some specifics:

~ Seeing the link between your lifestyle and your body's functioning (or lack thereof) is a huge motivator (and can be a powerful wake-up call)

~ You will learn about and have an opportunity to apply a variety of strategies to get lifestyle / habit change going and for making them stick

~ Seasoned wellness experts and coaches will be guiding you through making the right changes and holding you accountable (in a supportive way)

~ You won't be doing this on your own! You will work together with a small number of other participants in "Accountability Partnership Teams". Research shows that effective accountability partnerships raise your likelihood of success to 95%!

~ Optional but encouraged, you can share your lifestyle change commitments (and whether you are sticking to them) with your fellow participants and coach via an online habit tracker

~ Follow-up measurements will give you objective data about your progress and knowing a follow-up measurements is around the corner, tends to spur us on to stick to our commitments.

No! Employers don't have access to individual employee’s personal data. This includes Firstbeat Life measurement results.

Employers only get to see aggregated, anonymised data for a company-wide and department-level overview. These reports are only generated if at least seven employees have completed a measurement during the report period.

You can find an overview of what the company level reporting looks like here.

Your personal / measurement data is stored on the Firstbeat web service in accordance with the Firstbeat Privacy Policy.

Also, everything you discuss with one of our wellness experts / coaches in your one-to-one sessions is strictly confidential. All members of our team abide by the strict code of practice of their registering / accrediting body.

The measurement device, called the Bodyguard, is very light (24 grams), non-invasive and easy to wear under your clothing. You'll hardly notice it's there!

You wear it for 24-hours a day for up to 5 days, except when you are showering, swimming etc (the device is not waterproof). The device attaches to your body with self-adhesive electrodes, which you replace every day. All very straight forward and no-one will notice you are wearing it (unless of course you want to show off how invested you are in improving your lifestyle).

Have a look at this video to see how it works in more detail.

The straightforward answer: As often as you like throughout the programme (and afterwards if you continue the subscription). How often you measure is up to you but the more you measure the more you will understand your own well-being and how it is changing.

Our recommendation: At a minimum, you need to complete a baseline measurement at the start of the programme and a follow-up measurement at the end of the programme.

In addition, it can be really powerful to do a few additional ones during the programme. For example a few weeks after you have made some initial lifestyle changes to see if they are starting to have an impact. Or if you are experimenting with a few different recovery practices and want to see which one is most effective, etc.

These additional measurement can be short(er), even just a day or a few days.

Absolutely! The device is issued to you personally and yours to keep.

The measurement service is provided on a subscription basis you receive a four-month subscription as part of the programme. When the programme is finished you can, but don't have to, continue the subscription for a monthly fee (which may be subsidised by your employer or is otherwise paid by you personally).

The main differences are that 1) Firstbeat Life records heart rate variability with clinical-grade ECG, and 2) visually overlays your daily activities with this data.

Most wearable devices are based on monitoring pulse rate variation with optical technologies on the wrist. Without activity overlay, translating the data becomes challenging and most people find it difficult to then make positive change.

Firstbeat Life’s method provides highly accurate, meaningful, and actionable insights from your physiology during work, rest, exercise and sleep.

You can find out more about heart rate variability and the science behind Firstbeat here