According to the Global Wellness Summit, the wellness industry is worth US$4.5 trillion, including wellness tourism, wellness architecture and design, wellness lifestyle real estate, CBD and cannabis, sleep, sexual wellness, “dying well”, and much more. Take a look at some of this year’s wellness trends that will be leading the trend.
1. Focus Shifts from Sleep to True Circadian Health
Sleep and routine can drastically impact your productivity and overall wellbeing. According to GWS, there will be less focus on all the generic sleep solutions and a new focus on Circadian Health optimization, not only for sleep but for all the brain and body systems that are controlled by the circadian clock. Timing of light and biology will play an essential role, and solutions that realign our internal clock with the outside world will surge.
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2. Aging Rebranded: Positively Cool
With increased longevity and substantial wealth, today’s retirees put a premium on health, wellness and nutrition, they are aging radically different than previous generations. Yet the seniors attract only 10 per cent of marketing budgets and less than one per cent of global innovation. GWS predicts this will be changing, as multiple industries target the 55+ generation with product design, experiences and campaigns that speak to their strengths and sensibility.
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3. J Wellness
Half of Japan’s citizens are likely to live to 100, and there are lessons to be learned from this lengthy leadership in longevity. Ikigai, purpose but at a measured pace; Kintsugi, art of repairing broken pottery; Wabi-sabi, embracing imperfection and transience; Marie Kondo, decluttering by auditing the spiritual value of our possessions; and Shinrin-Yoku, forest bathing. Japan is also known for its wellness-related products, which has become a global phenomenon during the last few years. The world is taking notice of J-wellness, or Japanese-inspired wellness.
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4. Mental Wellness and Technology: Rethinking the Relationship
Mental tech health is moving mainstream to support the 450 million individuals currently struggling. Whether it’s via virtual care, wearables, chatbots or other futuristic innovations, mental health care is moving far beyond the psychiatrist’s couch. Technological advancement has pushed therapy to the forefront of convenience in people’s pockets. Wide range of tools such as chatbots, apps and digital support groups have been rising to help individuals to combat modern-day issues such as burnout, loneliness and anxiety.
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5. Energy Medicine Gets Serious
The medical, technology and wellness worlds are all innovating new tools to optimize the human energy body. Whether chakra balancing, acupuncture, reiki, shamanism, qigong or sound baths, ancient medicines are based on interventions in the body’s energy fields, while Western medicine embraces the anatomical/biochemical model. Despite polar-opposite approaches, traditional medicine and “ancient wellness” are now finding some common ground.
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6. Organized Religion Jumps Into Wellness
More and more religious organizations and ministry leaders are incorporating different health and fitness modalities into their communities, ranging from Ramadan bootcamps to Catholic Pilates classes. As health and fitness has gained more and more attention, organized religion is now reimagining age-old rituals and formats. For some churches, synagogues and mosques, this adoption simply reflects a desire to feel better and to take preventative health measures.
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7. The Wellness Sabbatical
The need to strike a balance between the pursuit of wellness and the need to work is the central concept of the wellness sabbatical. It combines both, taking a wellness retreat and staying connected with your work. You will take along your smartphone or laptop while you are doing a wellness sabbatical. According to GWS, technology has allowed us to become “digital nomads,” and the more comfortable you are working remotely, the more successful your wellness sabbatical will be.
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8. The Fertility Boom
Thanks to the upfront conversations of celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, Kim Kardashian, and even Mark Zuckerberg, fertility is no longer a taboo topic. Women are increasingly taking ownership of their bodies, they demand more information, more studies, and therefore more innovation. According to a Market Research Future report, the global fertility services market is expected to grow to $36 billion by 2023.
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9. Wellness Music
This is the year of “well sounds”. Music as an intentional therapy is being radically reinvented. Wellness concepts are shaking up the massive music industry, and hence, “wellness music” is being born. According to the GWS, there’s a big uptick in scientific research identifying how music’s structural properties (such as beat, key, chord progression, etc.) specifically impact the brain and biometrics such as heart rate and sleep patterns, so evidence-based music and soundscapes can be developed as precision medicine. We’ll also see more wellness studios, which will put rich menus of sound healing under one roof, whether Ayurvedic sound therapy massage, gong baths or CBD sound journeys. Furthermore, some really new acoustic experiences will hit wellness travel.
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10. In Wellness We Trust: The Science Behind the Industry
According to GWS’ wellness trends, people increasingly want to separate the wellness wheat from the chaff, and more resources and platforms are rising because of that, in other words, “the wellness watchdog” appears. This year we can expect a more thorough vetting process for all wellness practices and hobbies. Initiatives like wellness Evidence, WellSpoke, and WellSet are just the beginning for a more transparent, critical wellness industry.
You can find the complete Global Wellness Trends Report here.
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