The Top Wellness Trends for 2023
As the wellness sector continues to boom in a post-Covid world, people have been looking at health and wellness through a brand-new lens. A number of evolving and emerging trends are expected over the next 12 months. With a backdrop of the long-term effects of COVID, layered with social injustices, economic tribulation, and powerful climate occurrences, wellness has never been as important as it is today.
Here, we break down some of the most popular happenings in the world of wellness.
Wellness Water
Hydration is the key to health. Water carries oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to various body parts for optimal functioning, removes toxins and waste, lubricates our joints for movement and prevents body aches. However, the risks of drinking water from plastic bottles have been well-documented over the years. The chemicals ingested from microplastics can negatively impact our immunity, our sexual health, cause fertility issues and in extreme cases even lead to cancer. Changing the molecular structure of our drinking water can positively impact the way our body absorbs and uses the water. Luckily Dubai-based Wisewell is a reverse osmosis filter, designed to be fitted into your household – it aims to remove pollutants and even the tiniest microplastics from your drinking water. As mercury, chlorine and other harmful materials are removed from the water, trace amounts of minerals are added back in to enhance flavour, texture, and health benefits. The company even offers an app where consumers can monitor the quality of their tap water.
Come Into The LED Light
LED Light therapy improves cellular health to reduce the signs of ageing, relieve pain, and eliminate acne. It treats existing blemishes and minimizes future breakouts. This PDT technology-powered mask transmits natural light waves, activating photoreceptors deep in the skin cells to beautify your skin. The red light increases blood flow and collagen production, the blue light reduces acne and helps to calm and tighten the skin while the yellow light smooths skin and reduces redness. Suitable for all skin types.
Deep Rooted
Want to avoid issues such as hair shedding and thinning, start caring for your scalp! Often overlooked in our beauty regimes, the scalp is actually what supports our hair fibre through the hair follicles. The quality of our hair is therefore dependent upon the quality of the tissue, cells, and blood that fuel the follicles. Start thinking of scalp care as you do about your skincare, put a weekly/biweekly/monthly regimen in place applying the basic steps of cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing your scalp based on your individual needs. L’Oreal’s Scalp Advanced range offers great options for greasy, and dandruff-ridden scalps.
Shoulders back, chest out and walk proud
Our technologically powered days are laden with complaints of neck and shoulder pain – with our heads buried in our phones and computers all day, tech-neck has become our reality. The short-term effects of a bad posture include aches and pains but in the long term, this can turn into chronic pain. While bad posture can become a cyclical habit there are small changes you can adhere to which can help alleviate this. If you work at a desk, make sure that you have a firm seat with a table you can comfortably rest your elbows and wrists on. Take a break every now and then and just stretch out, relax your shoulders and unclench your jaw. Yoga, pilates, barre classes, walking and exercises for the upper back and shoulders can all help with improving your posture.
Sometimes You Need To Be Somatic
While talking about our issues is great sometimes, we just need to move. Somatic therapy operates under the belief that emotions become trapped in the body when not processed. It can help with a wide range of issues ranging from anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and addiction to chronic pain, digestive disorders and sexual dysfunction. Somatic therapy equally emphasizes on and treats both the body and mind, while talk therapy traditionally focuses more on thought processes, perceptions and behaviours. It can range from breathwork and brain spotting to jumping, dancing and tapping.
Super(sea)food
Vitamin Sea is heavily trending in the wellness world. Superfoods from the sea which include E3Live, chlorella, algae, kelp, krill and other sea vegetables are proving to be full of essential vitamins and minerals. These superfoods can help with improving immunity, reducing inflammation, improving gut health and maintaining healthy skin, hair and joints.
Broth Benefits
While bone broth has been making the rounds for a few years, it is back in the spotlight for 2023. It is rich in protein, collagen, and minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Benefits include improved bone and joint health, weight loss, improved hair, skin, and nails and better sleep. Vegans will be happy to know that mushroom broths, vegetable, and kelp broths also have similar benefits. However, it should be consumed in moderation – around one cup a day is optimal.
In Sync With Sleep
Sleep syncing is simply aligning your body’s sleep-wake cycle with your daily routine. Your circadian rhythm (your sleep-wake cycle) is your internal body clock that follows a 24-hour cycle. Influenced by light and dark, it controls hormone release such as melatonin and your digestive enzymes. Sleep syncing is creating a routine that makes sure your body is sleeping and waking when it should be. Better sleep can help improve energy levels and maintain a healthy body. Simple steps like waking up at the same time every day, getting some sunlight in the morning, cutting back on screens before bed, creating a bedtime routine and cutting back on heavy meals close to bedtime can all help with this.
Sober Curious
As Dry January comes an end, there may be a reason to continue with your sobriety. The sober curious lifestyle simply means that you’ve chosen to avoid alcohol for personal or wellness reasons. It involves curiosity about the reasons fuelling your desire to drink and the way alcohol affects your life. Sober curious people may not necessarily meet the criteria for an alcohol use disorder or intend to give up alcohol permanently. Sober curiosity often begins with some concern about alcohol’s impact on your life. It usually involves some questioning of drinking culture and your own patterns of alcohol use. It need not be a permanent change, some people choose to avoid alcohol for 2 weeks, 1 month, or 1 year. Others don’t set any time limit but commit to going without for a while. Many people have claimed that practising a sober curious lifestyle has helped them with more mindful drinking.
Fungi Food
High in antioxidants and packed with vitamins and minerals, mushrooms are rising up the superfood charts. Although we think of them as vegetables, mushrooms are not technically plants – they belong to the fungi kingdom. Mushrooms have a constituent called beta-glucans which help increase the production of white blood cells, are packed with vitamin B and D and selenium – which plays a role in liver enzyme function and helps fight some cancer-causing compounds in the body. They are even proven to be good for brain health.
Reformer Pilates
Reformer Pilates is a great way to future-proof your body. It focuses on routine maintenance of your body to avoid problems in the future. It also promotes being more mindful about moving properly during the day and avoiding unhealthy habits like slouching or disengaging your core. Pilates is about strengthening the deeper core muscles and developing muscular coordination and spine control, when practised regularly it can help with aches, pains and preventing injury. Suitable for people of any size, shape, or age, Pilates reformer is a low-impact, whole-body workout.
Sound On
Sound therapy uses aspects of music to improve physical and emotional health and well-being. Healing with sound is believed to date back to ancient Greece, when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in the military, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting. It can help reduce stress, decrease anxiety, improve memory, reduce pain and even lower the risk of disease.
Give In To Your Senses
Tuning into our senses can help us ease anxiety and feel calm. It is about being present, aware and mindful of the way we feel. Regularly “checking in” with our emotions and how we're feeling can help us focus and get a new perspective. Simply connecting with your breath, meditating, visualizing and forgiving yourself can help you connect to yourself on a deeper level.
