Health and self-care are more important than ever and with a New Year right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to reflect on 2022 and to set your sights on how to shape your wellness plan for 2023.
With the global wellness industry valued at 4.5 trillion dollars and the US tracking towards 1.4 trillion by 2026, there is no shortage of companies innovating around the clock and vying for your attention—and dollars—in that space.
But for a trend to truly take off, it also needs to be backed by science, have a progressively growing interest with consumers and make your life easier, healthier and more interesting at once.
Here are the top 10 health and wellness trends to look out for in 2023, according to experts.
1. Sober Curiosity
If “sober curious” is a term you haven’t heard yet, expect to hear it a lot more in 2023. With increasing research pointing to the adverse effects of drinking alcohol coupled with the rise of better-for-you, more natural ways to get “high”—not to mention the explosion of alcohol-free beverage lines, mocktail bars and the cannabis industry set to grow from 10.8 billion to 40 billion between now and 2030, it’s no surprise that consumers are turning to the many other hangover-free options in the sober-curious moment.
2. Biophilia Workouts (or Forest Bathing)
The term “biophilia”—meaning to connect with nature—is the latest twist on spending time in nature as the recommendation for doing so grows along with mounting research around its many benefits. Health-care professionals are now prescribing time outdoors to their patients for mental health as forest bathing is said to reduce symptoms of depression, boost immunity, lower stress, heart rate and blood pressure, all while improving heart and metabolic health.
3. Biohacking for Everyone
“Biohacking”, in nutshell, is the practice of self-science in pursuit of improved physical or mental health, whether it’s better sports performance, weight management or even work performance. Over the last decade, search engines have seen 7900% more searches for the term and examples of biohacking are everything from monitoring blood ketones for weight-loss with blood-glucose monitors to tailored nutritional supplementation, nutrigenomics, cryogenics and even wearable technology (more on that below).
4. Sports Recovery Technology
In a similar vein as biohacking, you’ll find sophisticated ways to recover in the comfort of home, or at your local gym or fitness studio, using recovery tech like massage guns, compression pants, vibrating rollers, anti-gravity treadmills, wall-mounted massage balls and more. The recovery tech industry is bound to explode in 2023 and beyond thanks to the high-demand for how technology can advance how efficiently we recover and up the ante on our health and fitness goals.
5. Early-Bird Dinners
The New York Times is calling 6pm the new 8pm for New Yorkers’ preferred dinner hour as the restaurant industry reports increasingly earlier dinner reservations in post-pandemic days—and experts say that it’s better for health, too. With more hours to digest food before you hit the hay, experts say it’s better for heart health, weight management and overall metabolic health.
6. Digital Detoxing
Digital detoxing is taking a break from or limiting screen time in order to be more mindful of time spent on devices overall—whether that means one day off a week or an entire weekend every now and again. It can also be helpful to temporarily delete social media apps for a time while you focus on a big project or a weight-loss journey and need to be distraction—and comparison—free.
7. Wearable Technology
Smart watches were just the beginning of the wearable technology movement that appears to have barely scratched the surface. Explodingtopics.com reports that interest in that famous sleep-tracker ring has grown 2933% in just five years, but 2023 will usher in even more smart jewelry, artificial intelligence hearing aids, virtual reality headsets, skin-patch health monitors, smart clothing and more. The future is upon us.
8. Fitness Apps
Fitness apps are another sector of the health industry that touts 800 million users worldwide and is forecasted to nearly double its revenue to $30 billion by 2026. According to explodingtopics.com, fitness tracking apps will continue to reign supreme but app developers will compete to take it a step further from what most users already get for free with most smartphones and work towards further innovating the social aspect of fitness tracking apps. Guided workout apps, meal planners and nutrition trackers will also continue to grow, especially those targeted at millennials.
9. The Resurgence of Group Fitness
According to a report by MINDBODY’s Fitness in America report, group fitness was already a trend that saw one in four Americans flocking to boutique studios and group fitness classes every week, but after a lonely stint of at-home workouts, team training environments are primed for a resurgence thanks to their fun and motivating environments that deliver results.
10. Movement “Snacks”
Instead of condensing all of your physical activity into a single time block per day, the concept of “movement snacking” was born out of the need to get up and enjoy shorter bursts of activity frequently throughout the day. One study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science found that most people sit about eight hours a day and movement snacks are said to help get you up more often during the day as well as boost energy and mental focus. In addition to your regular exercise routine, experts recommend adding multiple 5- to 10-minute exercise “snacks” to your day where you get up for a walk, a brief jog or some push-ups or speed squats to rev your heart rate and break up the day.
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