Our team attended the Global Wellness Summit’s “The Future of Wellness 2020” in New York this week. And while we are still taking in the immense amount of knowledge shared, we wanted to share a few things that stood out for us.
Rebranded Aging is Catching On
First, we can’t help but be excited that the subject that is near and dear to our hearts is also near and dear to people on a global scale: Aging Rebranded: Positively Cool is the #2 wellness trend worldwide. People like you, and us, have been redefining aging, and the market is finally catching up — or at least acknowledging that they’ve been underestimating us (!).
Here are the other top three things that got our attention:
Sleep Science Gets Notched Up to Circadian Health
This is the trend we are most excited about. Sleep is everything, and our team agrees that if our sleep gets thrown off, it has the power to mess up our entire day. And we’re not alone; we are a sleep obsessed culture, to the tune of $432 billion spent annually on sleep products and experiences, and not without irony. “We pay to travel and get lagged in order to take a sleep retreat!” says Beth McGroarty of the Global Wellness Institute. But we’re still not sleeping!
We Live in a Lightmare of Computer Screens
Why? Because sleep is about light and the timing of light (not sleep itself). The promise of circadian science lies in the fact that we are at our best (more well) when we time what we do (sleeping, eating, etc.) to be in sync with our natural, internal circadian rhythms. On a simple level, this means being awake when it’s light out, and sleeping when it’s dark. But we all know that’s not so simple; we live in a “lightmare” of computer screens and round-the-clock schedules.
That’s what makes circadian science so exciting. It will bring us solutions that not only sort out sleep in the right way, but also help us make friends with our own internal systems. Where to start? Try Timeshifter the jet-lag app. We don’t leave without it.
High-Energy Medicine
Not entirely dissimilar to circadian science, energy medicine is all about practices that help heal the human “energy body,” such as acupuncture, reiki, hands-on healing, chakra balancing, etc.
What excites us about energy medicine is that it brings together the ancient and the modern into a new common ground. “Scientific researchers are discovering that the human body is indeed a complex bio field of electromagnetic frequencies and light waves…and that we are immersed in other complex electromagnetic fields that change human cells.” Like the internet. And mobile phones.
How Does Tech Affect Our Energy Fields?
If the internet has the power to change our cells, where does that leave us? Is there such a thing as technology that is compatible with the human energy field? These are just some of the questions being explored.
Seeking high energy, we will also seek out more high-vibration travel. “More wellness destinations will go ‘high energy’: serving up even more ancient energy medicines, more cutting-edge energy technologies, and more blending of both ancient and modern solutions.” On our wish list, Six Senses Resorts’ “Grow a New Body” program, which combines things like energy-medicine evaluations and altitude training with ancient shamanic approaches like mitochondria-boosting diets, plant medicine and intensive spiritual work.
It’s Not About Money, It’s About Inspiration
Across the top trends in wellness, we heard that more money doesn’t always mean more progress. Wellness is now a $4.5 trillion business, and it’s growing at a rate faster than our GDP. But just because we (the US) spends $265 billion on physical activity each year, it doesn’t mean that we are physically fit, or even active. Less than 5% of our population exercises in free time and about 40% of Americans don’t move enough. Chronic diseases are escalating right alongside explosive growth in fitness.
To Be Well, Be Inspired
While it’s a more intricate conversation than we can take on here, what does make a difference? Inspiration, and community. We all want be motivated, share with others and have fun. That’s the magic behind Soul Cycle and other “find your tribe” fitness brands, and it’s also the magic behind the 100 million women in China who get together to dance in public plazas (aka Plaza Dancing) every day.
We are inspired by the insight behind this year’s Global Wellness Summit Moonshot: Every one innately has the ability to be well. That’s the best place to start. Respect for all.