5 wellness trends to try this summer

Fire yourself up with functional drinks, virtual fitness, and digital health — these trends will boost your well-being next season by Christen Casey

Let’s take a peek behind the curtain, by looking at last year’s top Google Searches and get a glimpse into our collective subconscious. It revealed the expected cultural footprints of the news stories and zeitgeist-y moments that captured our attention.

Search queries related to the Suez Canal crisis and Squid Games-related cookie recipes saw a nice spike. But perhaps more interesting was increased searches on topics like “insomnia”, “how to be happy alone”, “cold or covid?” “what home workouts should you try.” These search queries bely the spotlight on, and the outsized attention focused on mental health spurred on by the COVID crisis.

So, if we all have mental health on the tips of our tongues, how is industry responding? We’re so happy you asked. Here’s the top 5 trends we’re seeing and how the market is meeting those new consumer demands

1. Mental Health Takes #1 Spot at the Podium

We’re seeing more and more high-profile figures taking a step back instead of just leaning in to high-stress situations. A climatic shift happened in the sports world when gold medal-winning gymnast GOAT Simone Biles and No. 1 ranking women’s tennis star Naomi Osaka prioritized their mental health over competing. Both athletic superstars have very publicly and epically submitted Mental Health Day requests. This signals to the public that we can — and should — do the same. Because hey, if it’s good enough for Olympians, it must be good for us too mere mortals.

This normalization of hitting the pause button is proof positive that mental health is having a moment and for good reason as nearly one in five U.S. adults lived with a mental illness (52.9 million) in 2020.

At Havas Mango, we take 30 minutes on Wednesday mornings for a wellness check-in. It’s mental magic just to talk to your colleagues and ask each other how they are doing. As we look to the future, our mental fitness will be peaking, and more taboos in this space will be chipped away with stress-reducing solutions and workplace harmony in our new normal.

If you’re someone just starting to explore mental health and wellness apps, Happify is a good option to consider as it’s an easy-to-use, self-guided app that helps you become more active in improving your overall sense of happiness and mental wellness.

2. Virtual Fitness Experiences are Here to Stay

Taebo, Jazzercize, Richard Simmons: oh my! Fitness trends come and go. But at least we can all agree breaking a sweat never goes out of style. It’s just the how of it that leads us to interesting developments like leg warmers and spandex. So much spandex. So, what’s the latest trend in this space?

Gamified Fitness. We know that the harder it is to feel the reward, the harder it is to form the habit. Gamified fitness takes this to heart by providing a reward system for your workouts, making your fitness a fun game with an immediate reward to help develop a routine. It’s only going to get better with virtual world settings, but not all games and equipment are created equal.

If you’re not one for clunky headsets but want to feel the burn, Quell is looking like the future of the fitness gaming world. Thank us later for your summer-ready beach bod on this one. Quell allows you to feel everything with its customizable resistance, powerful haptics, and lightning-fast motion recognition where you can burn more calories than any spin class with immersive, high-intensity workouts.

3. Adaptogens for the Win on Boosting Mental Performance and Reducing Stress

And while we build up a sweat from our digital fun workouts, we continue to help ease the stress out of our lives, support health, and improve mental function, too, right? Maybe you’ve heard of adaptogens before, but you’re not quite sure what they are or what they do. Here’s a quick summary: adaptogens are herbs or mushrooms with medicinal properties.

They aren’t “fixers” per se, but they can work to support your body’s response to stress and can use them to cope with intense periods — like holidays, work deadlines, and taxes — while staying gently energized long term.

It’s no surprise that adaptogens are trending for 2022. In our post-traumatic thrive time, wellness takes on a whole new shape — and in a can with Drink Droplet. This all-women-founded company, with its trademarked slogan, self-care in every sip™, tops our summer trends with its sparkling, stress-balancing adaptogen drink made with whole fruit juice superfoods. Take on this summer with self-care that comes from your refrigerator for any boost or balance you might need.

4. Realize Your Potential Through Sleep and Circadian Health

A $432 billion sleep market, and we’re still not sleeping. We’ve been going beyond the sleep function in our health apps with devices that help improve our sleep and trace our nightly habits while complementing our jewelry collection by putting a ring around our siesta with Oura Ring. Furthermore, with products like the Apple Watch to Fitbit, the market abounds with wearable devices claiming to be able to measure a person’s sleep.

In fact, about one in five US adults say they regularly wear a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey — and we’ve been sporting the watch tan lines to match.

But the timing of sleep is key to getting high-quality, restorative sleep. This means sleeping at the right circadian time, and the only solutions that can reset circadian rhythms have light at the center. So, as we look to the future, the shift in wellness solutions becomes less focused on general sleep solutions and towards a keen elevated focus on circadian health optimization.

If there’s one thing that I could get rid of other than the tan lines, it would be jet lag. With borders now open this summer, keep in mind Timeshifter. The app helps travelers quickly adapt to new time zones by focusing precisely on timing light exposure. Its algorithm has been used by Formula 1 drivers, Olympians, and NASA. If it’s good enough for astronauts, it’s good enough for me.

5. Mindfulness Welcomes the Metaverse

Picture this: you’re floating weightlessly miles above the Earth, and before you know it, you’ve somehow landed on Mars without the help of Musk or Bezos.

Imagine going far but staying close to home by using a lightweight and compact headset to transport your meditation escape to anywhere your heart desires.

Calmness is a few steps away with the award-winning HTC: VIVE Flow. We’re banking on the metaverse for safe, immersive, meditative experiences, but more to come on this trend in future articles.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Wellness Travel: A Healing Destination

With summer around the corner, post-pandemic travelers are ready for adventure and relaxation.

A survey by the Wellness Tourism Association found that nearly 78 percent of people across 48 countries reported that wellness travel would be on their list.

The main reasons respondents would book a wellness trip were escaping the stress of daily life, connecting with nature, and feeling rejuvenated. So, where should you go to reset and reconnect? With its overwhelming beauty and as a particular hotspot for nature-lovers, it’s no wonder that spiritual wellness retreats overflow in Hawaii. Consider the Surf into Yoga in Kauai, also known as the “Garden Island,” to relax, unwind, and catch a wave.

Better Beauty with Chinese Wisdom

The views of wellness are constantly evolving, and it’s no surprise that this includes beauty products such as skincare and supplements from the customer’s perspective. Clean beauty and K-beauty have captured the hearts and pores of consumers, and that industry has taken over retailer aisles and has filled up our bathroom shelves. While K-pop and K-dramas are going strong, consumers are turning to new innovative products that don’t involve the tiring 10-step skincare routines that are often too complicated with Korean skincare. Watch out for the next big wave coming from China and its historical roots, honing on their rich ancient beauty rituals.

The sparkling Chinese beauty product market is marrying the latest science in skincare with traditional Chinese medicine to inform the concepts and ingredients of their products.

HerBeast, is among the rising stars of today’s C-beauty, pushing “skincare long-termism,” and the label incorporates medicinal herbs and plants as part of the product’s luxurious ingredients. If it means healthy skin and more glow, I’m here for it.

Which wellness trends will you participate in? Which of these ideas do you think are here to stay in our post-pandemic world? Give us a shout if you want to talk trends or talk to our team on how we can help your brand in the health and wellness landscape.

Quick note: products and places listed above are not paid promotions — just placing some wellness love within a one-click reach for you.