BetterMe is an all-inclusive approach to health and wellness.
BetterMe is a Ukrainian wellness company that is an international leader in digital health and psychological well-being products for people of all ages, backgrounds and physical abilities.
This app promotes a healthy and happy lifestyle rather than fanatical weight loss or a perfect body. The app’s developers have based it on the belief that sports and healthy eating are fundamental human rights. The app became free for Ukrainians after the full-scale invasion began, but in general, the subscription costs $19 per month.
The success story
Ukrainian from Donetsk region Victoria Repa founded BetterMe in 2016. According to her, the application is a bootstrapping (the beginning of business development with minimal external funding — ed.), which became profitable in the second month. In 2018, BetterMe became the most downloaded physical and mental health app in the US and, a year later, worldwide. And today, the app has been downloaded by more than 100 million people from more than 190 countries. In the application, you can choose one of 19 languages, including English, Dutch, French, Polish and others.
Interestingly, according to the founder, today’s main competitors of BetterMe are Netflix, computer games and porn because it is easier for people to watch a TV series or pass the next level in the game than to start training. But it is necessary to understand that there are types of pleasure that start well but do not have positive consequences in the long run. And some begin conditionally unpleasantly: getting up at five in the morning and training. However, in the long run, it will have positive consequences.
How does it work?
The program provides a whole complex for sports and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It includes, in particular, BetterMe: Health Coaching (to improve physical fitness) and BetterMe: Mental Health (meditation, healthy sleep, emotion control).
After registering in BetterMe: Health Coaching, you will need to specify your height, current weight, desired weight, physical shape and general information about how your day goes (how much you sleep, activity during the day, etc.). In addition, you will need to pass a small test to help you choose a program more thoroughly. For example, answer questions like ‘I often need the motivation to continue. I give up easily when I feel stressed. Yes or No?’ You also choose what results you expect from the program and what you want to improve your well-being. Based on all the data, the program selects individual training. Immediately after the analysis, you may undergo a training session demonstrating each exercise. Encouraging is training for a few minutes, after which a person feels better and not tired. Then you choose which days and times you will work out and set reminders. In addition to training in the application, you can monitor the amount of water you drink, the calories you consume, and the number of steps taken per day and get helpful psychological notes with exciting information.
In the BetterMe: Mental Health app, you also need to choose the goals you want to achieve in your mental health at the beginning. For example: improve sleep, heal childhood trauma, improve self-esteem, cope with anxiety, etc. Then you answer questions about your current psychological state, and the app, analysing all the information, provides a plan for each day. There you can find practical advice from psychologists, meditations, affirmations, relaxing sounds and even bedtime stories.
Feedback from a user
‘I have been using BetterMe: Mental Health for a few months now, and I can say that my sleep has improved. I used to have chronic insomnia and constant anxiety due to the war and moving to another country. Still, when I started listening and reading everything this app provided me, I finally felt relieved. The tips and audio content are targeted to my problems. Of course, I understand this is a set of tips and practices. Still, sometimes it even seems that some real person takes care of me, so pleasantly and efficiently everything is done,’ Kateryna Turchyna, a student at Prague University.
Ukrainian IT developers are just beginning to make themselves known to the whole world, but some of them are already recognised. The BetterMe app, which has been at the top of health projects from the UK to the United States for many years, is one example of such success.
Today, during the Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukrainians are experiencing what few people in the world have ever experienced. BetterMe and the World Health Organization recently launched a joint project called ‘Essential Skills in Times of Stress.’ This exclusive knowledge and experience of Ukrainians can help everyone in a difficult period to stay calm and overcome anxiety.
