Healthy Living Finds its Way to Social Media with Health Month: The Game
Who doesn’t want to live healthier? Healthy living has found it’s way into mainstream social media with “health month: the game” – a game that takes the science of changing behaviors and nutrition education to help people improve their health in a fun and sustainable way.
When you sign up for the game (free!) at Health Month you’ll create the rules of your game. The rules determine how you’ll live for the next month. Each game starts on the first of the month, but you can join a game already in progress at any time, or start defining rules for the following month if you miss the start date. You can make up your own or choose from popular rules other players are using, like “limit sugar”; “exercise”; “find time to relax”.
Once you’ve created your rules you can join the game and interact with other players. If you choose 3 rules or less, you don’t get placed on a “team”. This allows you to play for free. When you choose more than 3 rules, you get placed on a team with other people with similar goals, and the game costs $5 per month, $50 for an annual membership, or you can request sponsorship if the budget is tight. You’ll post your request for sponsorship on the site to other players, and if someone thinks you deserve to be sponsored they’ll pay your fee. You’re encouraged to pay it back for someone else later on when you have the cash to do so.
Once you begin playing the game, you’ll track your progress and see whether or not you’re following the rules you’ve created. Through various social media, you’ll encourage other health month players and be encouraged by others, and finally, through the results on your score card – learn from your behaviors and see where you could improve your health further.
Declaring February as National Heart Health Month might seem like a warning aimed for those who enjoy indulging in a bit of chocolate for Valentine’s Day.