What is a good or bad Health Score?

 

The Health Score is a scientifically calculated number from 1 to 1,000. The higher your Health Score, the healthier you are considered to be. 
 
Your Health Score will fall into one of the five categories below:  

• Poor (< 480)
• Fair (≥ 480 – < 550)
• Good (≥ 550 – < 610)
• Very good (≥ 610 – < 680)
• Excellent (≥ 680) 

The more information you share over time, the more accurate your Health Score will be.

Is the Health Score accurate?

 Yes, it is. To get a base line Health Score, you need to simply enter your age, gender, weight and height.
 
The more health data you provide over time, the more accurate your Health Score will become, offering you a personalised health and wellbeing experience.

Why is the Health Score relevant?

The Health Score is a scientific way to measure your health in one easy to understand, single metric.  You can then make small lifestyle changes to improve this over time. These positive lifestyle changes can have wide-ranging health and wellbeing benefits.

We decided to go for a Score and not an age-related measure (such as bio age, real age, etc.) for two very important reasons: we wanted an indicator where older people could compare themselves to younger people, and men could compare themselves to women. The Health Score therefore uses a mathematical process called equalisation for age and sex, so that the Score can be used as a universal measure of health ranking.

Why is the Health Score a valuable indicator to track over time?

When you track your Health Score over time, it offers a good directional indicator of how your health and wellbeing is evolving.  

Is the Health Score a medical product?

No. The Health Score is an indicator of your health and wellbeing; however it is not a diagnostic tool and does not substitute the diagnosis of your medical professional.

The MyLife app is a lifestyle product that allows you to manage your health and wellbeing in an easy and engaging way.

What changes my Health Score?

Your Health Score is based on the information you provide about your body (40%), mind (15%) and lifestyle (45%). There are plenty of ways that you can improve your Health Score, such as tracking your exercise and becoming more active, eating healthily when you can, and getting sufficient sleep.

The health benefits of physical activity are determined by sustained activity over time, not by a single workout. For this reason, MyLife uses an averaging procedure (called exponentially-weighted moving average) that looks back at your level of activity over the past 60 days. If a workout you do today uses less energy than your current average, your Health Score will decrease. 

What does MET mean?

 

MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) is a measure to estimate the energy cost of physical activity, independent of weight, where 1 MET = 1 kcal/kg/h. It is also known as “normalised energy”. This measure was introduced by Stanford University in California and has been used globally for more than 30 years.
 
The MET values used on MyLife are based on the Compendium of Physical Activities that has been put together by Stanford University. 

What is the scientific basis of the nutrition model?

 

The scientific basis for the nutrition engine is the Mediterranean Diet (MD). The principle of the MD is to use fresh, seasonal and minimally processed food, to adhere to a plant-based diet rather than an animal-based one, and to prepare dishes in a healthy way.
 
There is a large body of solid scientific evidence that recommends the health advantages of the MD.
 
Eating and drinking according to the MD is associated with a reduction in morbidity and mortality from major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Furthermore, adherence to the MD results in an improvement of risk factors such as insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and blood sugar or impaired blood lipids.
 
The MD is not only healthy, but also tasty, varied and appealing, making it an ideal diet to adopt for a healthy lifestyle.

Tracking and Third Party Devices/Apps 

How can I track a workout?

If you don’t use a fitness device or app, you can add the exercise you do manually. There are a wide range of predefined fitness activities to select from, making it easy to add your workouts.

You can also track a variety of fitness activities directly in the MyLife app by clicking on the Track menu item. In the Track menu, you can select your activity either by clicking on the Change Activity button or by clicking directly on the fitness activity icon on the screen.
Some of the fitness activities show a compass icon to signal that they are GPS-based activities. Select the activity and then click on Start to begin tracking your activity live.

If you use a fitness device or app, in most cases you can sync it with the MyLife app, so that your activity is automatically added.
MyLife connects directly with most of the popular fitness tracking devices and apps available from third parties. Take a look at our question on Connecting third party devices and apps for more information. If your device is not displayed in the Tracking devices section this means your device is not supported.

Can the MyLife app detect double counting of workouts and activities?

Yes, MyLife can detect double counting of workouts, and will remove duplicate workouts.

With the ability to connect various tracking devices and apps, users can track activities on different trackers at the same time. For instance, if you carry an external step counter which is connected to MyLife, (e.g. Fitbit) and you track this activity through MyLife also, this would be double counting. This duplication will be picked up and removed.

MyLife calculates a daily summary of activities. By collecting all workouts and activities from that day, MyLife can verify if certain workouts and activities overlap in time. If two workouts overlap, only the workout with the higher burned normalized energy (measured in MET h) will be displayed.

Some external devices/apps transfer step data, including time information, via their connection multiple times a day. This helps MyLife to do an exact overlap calculation and be very precise in the removal of duplicate workouts and activities.

Other external devices/apps however only provide MyLife with one daily transfer of step data via their connection without any time information. In these cases, the overlap calculation is less precise. A daily step count might overlap with an intense workout tracked on MyLife, so the intense workout will be captured rather than the steps because of the higher amount of energy burned. 

How do I manually add data (for activity, body values or sleep) to MyLife?

It is possible to manually add data to MyLife. You can manually add fitness activities or sleep data either on the mobile app or on the website. You cannot manually add steps.

To manually add a fitness activity:

• Tap/click Add Activity Manually on either the mobile app or on the website.
• Search for the desired activity in the list of available fitness activities by either scrolling/swiping up and down the list, or by using the search functionality, and then by tapping/clicking on it to select it.
• Enter the required data points, such as date, time, duration, and possibly also distance, elevation and heart rate (if available).
• You can add a photo to the workout if you wish, either by taking a new photo or by uploading a photo from the photo library on your smartphone.
• Tap Send on the mobile app or click Save on the website. These buttons will only become active (by switching colour from grey to blue) if there is enough data to save the activity.

To manually add body values:

• Tap/click on Add Body Values on the mobile app or on the website. You will be redirected to the Body section of the Me page.
• Tap/click directly on the value you would like to change, and by doing so the data entry wheel (on the mobile app) will open to make it clear that data should be entered.

 

To manually add sleep data:

• Tap/click on Add Sleep on the mobile app or on the website.

• Enter the required data points - date, duration in bed, duration asleep (the duration asleep needs to be lower than or equal to the duration in bed), and number of times awoken. These four data points are needed as a minimum to activate the Save button (by switching colour from grey to blue) on both the mobile app and on the website.

• Tap/click on Save and the manual entry will be logged and visible in the sleep journal on Me, Lifestyle, Sleep. 

How can I connect third party devices and apps to MyLife?

MyLife supports most of the popular fitness tracking devices and apps from third parties. To see the list of connectable devices :

• On the mobile app (iPhone, Android) go to: Track-> Tracking Devices/Apps

• On the website go to: Track -> Tracking Devices/Apps

You can also connect Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) enabled heart rate bands to the MyLife app by following these steps: Track -> Tracking Devices/Apps -> Add BLE Device

How often does my fitness device or app sync with MyLife?

Some external devices/apps transfer data to MyLife via their connection multiple times a day. Other external devices/apps only provide MyLife with one daily transfer of data via their connection. Because of this, it is recommended to wait up to 24 hours for the syncing of data to occur.

How can I use Siri on my iPhone with MyLife?

If you own an iPhone, you can use Siri to give voice-based commands to MyLife.
You can start your workouts using voice-based commands by telling Siri to start walking, running, cycling, etc.
For Siri to understand your command, you need to say:

• “Start NAME OF ACTIVITY with MyLife by Irish Life”, or

• “Start NAME OF ACTIVITY workout with MyLife by Irish Life”.

For example, if you say: “Start walking with MyLife” then Siri will open the MyLife app and immediately start recording your walking activity. You can also use Siri when you are already inside the MyLife app.
Currently the following activities are activated: walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, tennis, golf, yoga, aerobics, treadmill and gym workouts. Additional activities will be activated in future releases.

If you experience issues using Siri, such as Siri saying: “I wish I could, but MyLife hasn’t set up with me yet”, then please switch off your iPhone completely and restart it. This will solve the issue and you will be able to use Siri normally with MyLife again.

Can I connect historical data from third party devices/apps with MyLife?

Different vendors have different approaches on how they send your data to MyLife and many do not send historical data.

For the vast majority of third party devices/apps, MyLife imports your data from the moment that you connect your device or app to MyLife.

For some devices that do allow the integration of historic data, MyLife will integrate it. This is the case with TomTom (integrates 30 days’ history) and Garmin devices (integrates up to 100 items). You will not be awarded MyLife points for historical data.

Why is the tracked activity data and energy that I tracked with devices or apps from third parties sometimes different on MyLife?

MyLife integrates raw data such as steps, heart rate, etc. from third party devices and apps.

The calculation of energy models and calories burnt is done directly on the MyLife platform, as it is important for MyLife to remain consistent in how workouts are calculated across various different fitness tracking sources. We do this to maintain the integrity of the Health Score and the challenges we run on our platform. It would be unfavourable to use Tracker X instead of Tracker Y because Tracker X’s energy model is “more generous” in energy calculation. As vendors of tracking devices and apps use different energy models, this leads to differences between their data and the data seen on MyLife.

How can I delete a tracked workout?

You can delete your tracked workout directly on the MyLife mobile app or via our website (https://mylife.irishlife.ie).

Simply follow the steps below:

• On the mobile app: Me-> Lifestyle -> Activities -> Click on the specific workout in “My Workouts” and on the trash icon/delete button.

• On the website (after login): Me-> Lifestyle -> Activities -> Click on the specific workout in “My Workouts” and then click on the trash icon/delete button.

Any points allocated to that particular workout will also be deleted.

How can I import or export activities in GPX format?

This functionality is only available on the website. If you use a tracking device or application that is not currently connected to MyLife, you can import your data in GPX format via the website.
Follow the steps below to import and upload a fitness activity in GPX format:

• 1: Click on “Upload GPX” on the website.
• 2: Select the fitness activity of the workout.
• 3: Select the GPX file and upload it.
• 4: Add a photo if desired.
• 5: To complete the process, click on “Save”.

Additionally, you can export your data from MyLife to other platforms. To do so, you need to access the activity details page of the activity you would like to export on the website, and then click on “Export GPX” in the bottom right corner.

How can I send my feedback to MyLife?

To contact MyLife you can send us an email at support@mylife.irishlife.ie
 

Account Creation/Deletion and Security 

How do I sign up?

The sign-up process is identical on the mobile app and the website.
On the mobile app you will be guided directly to the sign-up process. On the web version users can click on the “Sign Up” button to start the process.

How do I reset my password?

If you forget your password, click on the “Forgot Your Password?” link on the login page, either on the mobile app or on the website, and follow the steps below:

• 1: You will be redirected to a web page where you will be asked to enter the email address you used to sign up for MyLife.
• 2: MyLife will send you an email, including a link to tap/click on. Please make sure to check your spam folder for this email if you don’t see it in your Inbox.
• 3: You will be redirected to a web page where you can set a new password and confirm it by tapping/clicking on the “Reset Password” button.

You will have to return to the login page and log in with your email address and your new password to access the MyLife platform again.

Can I delete my account and personal data?

Yes, you can delete your account by following these steps:

• On the mobile app: Me -> Settings -> Terms & Privacy -> Membership -> Scroll down and click on “Delete Your Account”.

• On the web site:  Settings -> Scroll down and click on “Delete Account”.

You will need to enter your password to confirm the deletion of your account. Once confirmed, your account will be deactivated immediately and your data will no longer be visible.

MyLife will keep your data for 30 days in case you change your mind and would like to reactivate your account. After 30 days, your data will be permanently deleted.

If you no longer wish to receive email updates from MyLife please select turn off notifications at the bottom on the email update.

What about data security and data privacy on MyLife?

We take our data protection commitments very seriously. Our aim at all times is to keep your data safe and secure.

We will process your information fairly and only ever use it for the purpose it was given. The personal data you share through MyLife will not be used to affect the price of your insurance plans.

You can delete your MyLife account at any time, and we will delete the personal and health related data that you shared with us through the app after 30 days.

Data Privacy:

Once you create your account on MyLife, you can control what data you wish to share, and what data to keep private. Please be aware that all registered users of MyLife are displayed with their name and their profile picture (if they have chosen to add one.)

For all other data points, you control and decide what data is to be accessible to others. You can change the privacy settings of your account at any time and thereby determine who will be able to see what data.

The only types of data that can be shared are the following: Health Score, workouts and earned achievements.

Sensitive personal data such as your weight, age or blood pressure, etc. is not accessible to other users.

The following types of sharing options are available:

• Public: All users registered on MyLife will be able to see the data described above.

• Groups: If you are member of a group, all group members (whether they are friends or not) will be able to see the data described above.

• Friends: Your friends will be able to see the data described above.

• None: Only you will be able to see the data described above.

If you’d like to learn more about how and why we use your personal data, you can read our Privacy Notice.  

How do I change my privacy settings? 

The only types of data that may be shared are the following: Health Score, workouts and earned achievements.
Sensitive personal data such as your weight, age or blood pressure, etc. is not accessible to other users.

The following types of sharing options are available:

• Public: All users registered on MyLife will be able to see the data described above.

• Groups: If you are member of a group, all group members (whether they are friends or not), will be able to see the data described above.

• Friends: Your friends will be able to see the data described above.

• None: Only you will be able to see the data described above.

You can change your privacy settings on the mobile app or on the website.

• On the mobile app: Tap on “Me”, then on the gear icon in the upper right corner to access Settings. Select “Platform Settings”, then “Privacy and Security Settings” to change your privacy settings.

• ​On the website: Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner to access Settings. Select “Privacy Settings” to change your privacy settings.