Booming wellness trends in 2023
Who knew at the beginning of 2019 that the Peloton craze would make the lowly exercise bike more popular than ever before? Consumers are more focused on integrating health into their daily lives than ever before and are looking for what works. I love wondering what the year ahead might hold. The wellness industry is booming, so what might the big hitters be this year? Here are my predictions…..
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (ESM) suits
Would you wear a onesie that sends electrical pulses through your body to tone your muscles? If you have been pregnant you might have used a TENs machine to ease labour pains, or if you remember the 1980s your mum might have had a Slendertone belt. EMS has been used for years in physiotherapy and by athletes to recover. Now suits are arriving in UK gyms for people to work out in, claiming that a 20 minute workout in one of these suits is equivalent to a 90 minute workout without.
Wellness Vapes
Whilst traditional Vapes contain nicotine, Wellness Vapes contain vitamins, essential oils, or hormones. Marketing plays on the fact that inhaling compounds offers faster absorption into the bloodstream than swallowing them, so those vitamins could get to work faster.
Ice baths
Ever since the BBC’s reality TV show “Freeze The Fear”, introduced the masses to cold water guru, Wim Hof, ice baths are growing in popularity. You can start off acclimatising your body by turning the shower to cold for a few seconds. Cold water immersion starter kits (which are like solo hot tubs) from £95 from companies such as Lumi. If you haven’t got enough room in your freezer draw for loads of ice trays, Brass Monkey make a Wi-Fi enabled temperature controlled plunge tub.
Functional drinks for the sober curious
Drinks targeting your brain, mood and general health are rising in popularity. Trip makes sparkling fruity drinks with CBD and other botanicals. Other brands promote nootropic (a fancy way of describing brain enhancing) soft drinks with natural caffeine and adaptogens. With more and more people doing Dry January and attempting to change their relationship with alcohol, functional drinks offer an alternative to mocktails or non alcoholic beers and wines.
Wearable tech
Engineers are on the brink of a breakthrough that will see contact lenses that offer all the functionality of a smartphone or laptop – so you will see your e mails appear right before your eyes. Fitness companies are designing wearable trackers to keep a track of who well you slept, heart rate, blood oxygen levels and even count reps and monitor form whilst in the gym. Companies are also making infrared embedded fabric clothing which help your body produce blood more flow, boosting nitric oxide!
Mushroom Mania
This is probably my current favourite! Functional mushrooms have high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds that support all aspects of health and wellbeing. If you are sceptical I encourage you to watch “Fantastic Fungi” documentary on Netflix. I have a mushroom coffee (made by Nootropics) every morning and love it!
Wellness travel
Going on holiday, used to be an excuse to leave our diet at the door, relax and do nothing for a week or two. These days people are planning trips based on wellbeing whether it’s a sound bath, yoga retreat, recovery lounge, cryotherapy chamber, silent, meditation sessions, forest immersion or salt rooms, the opportunities are endless.
As a huge fan and follower of wellness trends, it is exciting to see the industry moving from niche to mainstream. Which ones will you try in 2023?