Wellness Balance Index (WBI): your “whole-life” score in one number

Most health calculators answer one question: What is my BMI? How many calories do I burn? How much water should I drink? Those are useful — but real wellness is usually about balance across several systems at once: sleep, movement, nutrition, hydration, stress load, and recovery.

The Wellness Balance Index is a simple, non-medical scoring tool that converts those pillars into a single 0–100 number, so you can:

• Spot your bottleneck (sleep? stress? under-recovery?)
• Track trends week to week without overthinking
• Share a snapshot with friends or your training buddy (it’s made to screenshot well)
• Get a practical next step based on what’s dragging your score down

Important: this is a coaching-style index for awareness and habit-building — not a diagnosis tool. If you have medical concerns, use it as a conversation starter with a qualified professional.

What inputs does the Wellness Balance Index use?

WBI uses six subscores. Each subscore is scaled to 0–100, then combined into a weighted average. You can think of it as a dashboard: one low pillar can meaningfully pull down the total.

1. Sleep score (hours + perceived quality)
2. Activity score (minutes/week + steps/day)
3. Nutrition score (fruit/veg + protein consistency)
4. Hydration score (liters/day relative to body weight)
5. Stress score (self-rated stress, reverse-scored)
6. Recovery score (rest days/week + soreness level)

Formula breakdown (simple, transparent scoring)

There’s no “secret AI” here. The goal is predictable, transparent scoring that nudges you toward widely accepted wellness habits. Each pillar score is calculated with a few rules:

1) Sleep score (0–100)

Sleep score is the average of two parts:

• Sleep hours part: best range is 7–9 hours/night.
• Sleep quality part: your 1–5 rating scaled to 0–100.

Sleep hours part uses a “sweet spot” curve:

• 7–9 hours → 100
• 6 or 10 hours → 85
• 5 or 11 hours → 70
• 4 or 12 hours → 55
• 3 or 13+ hours → 40

Then: SleepScore = (HoursPart × 0.65) + (QualityPart × 0.35)

2) Activity score (0–100)

Activity combines exercise minutes per week and average daily steps. The idea: structured exercise + general movement are both valuable.

• Minutes/week: 150–300 is a strong general target. We scale up to 100 at 300.
• Steps/day: 8,000–12,000 is often a great “active life” band. We scale up to 100 at 12,000.

Then: ActivityScore = (MinutesPart × 0.55) + (StepsPart × 0.45)

3) Nutrition score (0–100)

Nutrition is complicated, so WBI keeps it simple and habit-friendly:

• Fruit/veg servings/day: scale to 100 at 6 servings.
• Protein (grams/day): scaled relative to body weight (g/kg). A common consistency range for active adults is roughly 1.2–1.8 g/kg; we scale to 100 at 1.6 g/kg.

Then: NutritionScore = (FruitVegPart × 0.55) + (ProteinPart × 0.45)

4) Hydration score (0–100)

Hydration is estimated using a lightweight rule: ~35 ml per kg body weight per day as a baseline. That’s not perfect for every climate or athlete, but it’s a solid, simple anchor.

We compute your target liters/day = (weightKg × 0.035). If you hit the target → 100. At half the target → 50. Above target is capped at 100 (more isn’t always better).

5) Stress score (0–100)

You enter a stress level from 1 to 10. We reverse-score it so lower stress yields a higher score:

StressScore = 100 − ((Stress − 1) / 9 × 100)

Then we apply a small “compression” so that extremely high stress doesn’t immediately zero your total, but it still matters. (Translation: stress strongly affects the index — as it should — but it’s not a punishment tool.)

6) Recovery score (0–100)

Recovery is a blend of rest days/week and soreness level (1–10).

• Rest days: 1–2/week is often a sustainable baseline; we scale to 100 at 2.
• Soreness: lower soreness → higher score (reverse-scored like stress).

Then: RecoveryScore = (RestPart × 0.6) + (SorenessPart × 0.4)

How the total WBI score is calculated

Finally, the six pillar scores are combined with weights chosen for real-life impact:

• Sleep: 22%
• Activity: 20%
• Nutrition: 18%
• Hydration: 10%
• Stress: 18%
• Recovery: 12%

WBI = Σ(PillarScore × Weight), rounded to the nearest whole number.

Interpretation: what your WBI range means

• 85–100 “Thriving”: Your basics are dialed. Keep it steady and avoid over-optimizing.
• 70–84 “Balanced”: Strong foundation with 1–2 pillars that can lift your score fast.
• 50–69 “Needs a tune-up”: You’re doing some things right, but inconsistency is costing you.
• 0–49 “High strain”: You’re likely under-slept, stressed, or under-recovering. Start with the smallest, highest-impact fix.

Examples (so you can sanity-check the result)

Example A: Busy but consistent (WBI ≈ 78)

• Sleep: 7.0h, quality 4/5
• Activity: 180 min/week, 7,500 steps/day
• Nutrition: 4 servings fruit/veg, 120g protein at 75kg
• Hydration: 2.3 L/day at 75kg
• Stress: 6/10
• Recovery: 1 rest day/week, soreness 5/10

This person is in the “Balanced” range. The quickest lift is likely steps + hydration (small changes), and recovery (add one easier day or true rest day).

Example B: Training hard, under-sleeping (WBI ≈ 62)

• Sleep: 5.5h, quality 3/5
• Activity: 300 min/week, 12,000 steps/day
• Nutrition: 5 servings fruit/veg, protein solid
• Hydration: hits target
• Stress: 7/10
• Recovery: 0 rest days, soreness 8/10

Even with great activity, the index drops because sleep + recovery are bottlenecks. A single change (sleep to 7h and one rest day) can jump WBI dramatically.

Example C: “I’m healthy… but I feel off” (WBI ≈ 54)

• Sleep: 7.5h, quality 3/5
• Activity: 60 min/week, 4,000 steps/day
• Nutrition: 2 servings fruit/veg, protein low
• Hydration: low
• Stress: 8/10
• Recovery: 2 rest days, soreness 2/10

This profile shows why WBI is useful: the issue isn’t a single dramatic problem — it’s multiple small leaks. Pick one pillar for the next 7 days: hydration + steps is usually the easiest “quick win” combo.

How to use WBI for virality and motivation

• Weekly check-in: run it every Sunday and screenshot your score.
• Two-week challenge: choose one pillar and try to raise WBI by 10 points.
• Buddy compare: share results with friends and do a friendly “sleep vs steps” challenge.
• Before/after: run WBI before a vacation, after a stressful week, and after a recovery week — it makes patterns obvious.

FAQ

• Is the Wellness Balance Index medically accurate?

  It’s not a medical test. It’s a habit-tracking index that simplifies a complex topic into a practical score. Use it to guide small improvements, not to diagnose anything.

• Can a high WBI replace doctor visits or lab tests?

  No. WBI can’t detect conditions, nutrient deficiencies, or disease risk the way professional medical tools can. If something feels wrong, treat WBI as “information,” not reassurance.

• What’s the fastest way to increase my score?

  For most people, the quickest improvements come from (1) sleep hours, (2) steps/day, and (3) hydration. Those are high-leverage habits that often cascade into better food choices and lower stress.

• What if I’m an athlete or training for an event?

  Then your “good” ranges may be different. Use WBI to keep yourself honest about recovery and sleep, and consider adjusting targets (like higher hydration or protein) for your training block.

• Does “more” always mean better (more steps, more water, more training)?

  Not always. WBI caps some scores at 100 because pushing beyond your needs can backfire. Consistency beats extremes.

• How often should I calculate it?

  Weekly is perfect. Daily changes can be noisy. Weekly trends show real progress without obsession.

What to do with your result

Your WBI is not a grade — it’s a signal. Use the pillar breakdown to choose the smallest habit change that improves your weakest area. Then re-run the calculator after 7 days.

• Sleep: Set a “lights out” alarm and protect the last 30 minutes before bed.
• Activity: Add a 10-minute walk after one meal daily.
• Nutrition: Add one “default” protein option you can repeat without thinking.
• Hydration: Fill a bottle in the morning and finish it by lunch.
• Stress: Do a 2-minute breathing reset before your next task.
• Recovery: Add one lighter day — intensity isn’t the same as progress.

• Run WBI on the same day each week (ex: Sunday).
• Save a snapshot so you can compare trends.
• Pick one pillar to improve — not all six at once.
• Share your score with a friend for accountability.