Image courtesy of Adare Manor.
Based on the opinions of more than 600 wellness experts from over 40 countries, the GWS’s 2018 Global Wellness Report report predicts what will be define the industry in the coming year.
“No other trends report is based on the perspectives of so many wellness experts,” said Susie Ellis, GWS chairman and CEO. “And every one of this year’s trends pushes the health and wellness envelope in unexpected ways.”
The 12th annual summit will take place from October 6-8 at the Technogym Village in Cesena, Italy.
1. ‘Shrooms with superpowers
Mushrooms are the largest set of organisms on the planet and in 2018 more people will explore the unique medicine they provide. Magic mushrooms could prove ‘better than existing treatments’ for anxiety, depression and addiction, and experts predict they will be legalised medicine within five years. Evidence is also mounting that ‘regular’ mushrooms are equally magical, particularly for fighting stress and inflammation.
2. Transformative travel
The 2018 buzzword, transformative travel is described as ‘…travel that challenges people on a deeply personal level, creating emotion through the powerful medium of storytelling…’The report predicts increasing numbers of wellness destinations will use the power of wellness circuits and epic storylines to create a necklace of linked wellness experiences rather than the disconnected beads of programming, amenities, and itineraries.The future for wellness travel will be engaging people’s emotions as much as evidence-based healing.
3. Pre-conception in the spotlight
This year, more focus will be placed on the initial 1,000 days of a child’s life. Epigenetics – the study of how gene expression changes with environmental and lifestyle factors, and how this can be passed to our children – will come to the fore. According to the report: “As more research is released, expect to see new guidelines that that go far beyond ‘no smoking or alcohol during pregnancy.”
4. The Wellness Kitchen
Expect a continued rise in the popularity of living, healthy, organic food and a move towards “Wellness Kitchens”, which will store and showcase fresh fruits and vegetables as opposed to processed foods, with new designs celebrating uncluttered, well-ventilated spaces that are as encouraging of socialising as they are of preparing healthy food.
5. Cleaning up our air
This year, we’ll take cleaning up the air we breathe into our own hands, according to the report.
Toxins in the air are responsible for the premature deaths of 6.5 million people worldwide; over 90% of the world’s population now breathes air that violates quality guidelines. Except to see homes and offices filled with plants, people increasingly adopting new pollution-fighting beauty regimes, actively monitoring indoor air quality using new sensors and apps and investing in devices that purify the air around us.
6. Extreme Wellness
The pursuit of wellness will become increasingly extreme, bordering on scary and downright uncomfortable at times. Expect to see more people training for wellness, like an Olympic athlete, and a rise in intense “mind over matter” workshops and luxury travel escapes thaqt challenge both body and mind to help build a better brain.
7. A New Feminist Wellness
In 2017, women fought back. #Resist, #metoo and #thefutureisfemale became global movements, and feminism was named the word of the year. The report predicts feminism and wellness will converge in 2018, and the parameters of what constitutes wellness for women will expand, with more women-only clubs, co-working spaces, and collectives: where women work, network, empower each other, unwind and learn – with wellness on tap.
8. Wellness Meets Happiness
No longer will happiness be a vague, difficult to measure state. Wellness denotes a state of overall health, while happiness is perceptual and more research and science into happiness it’s fast become easier to define and measure. And the science doesn’t lie: people aren’t happy. This year we’ll see a backlash against tech, and the 24/7 society, off-grid wellness travel will be the most sought-after and happiness-focussed wellness will take off. “The wellness world needs to put a greater focus on happiness generally – and on driving social connection and technology disconnection specifically,” the report states.
http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/2018-global-wellness-trends/
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