Wellness is hot. It’s been hot for a while now, and after enjoying a boost from Covid, we aren’t seeing this self-care train stopping anytime soon. How much is wellness expected to grow? According to Statistica, the wellness market was worth 8.74 trillion dollars (NZD) in 2022 – and in only two years, it’s projected to climb 25% more.
But how we do “wellness” changes from year to year. While 2022 was the year of mushroom coffee and sea moss (and so much more) – this year is taking a simpler approach – going back to our roots and normalising more taboo topics.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its annual Future of Wellness Trends 2023 report – naming 12 trends of well-being they predict will take centre stage for 2023. After some investigating of our own, we present you with top wellness trends we expect to see, feel, and enjoy during 2023.
At a Glance: Top Wellness Trends for 2023
- Sleep Synching
- Women’s Wellness
- Research and Data-Driven Products
- NEAT Living
- Workplace Wellness
Sleep Syncing
The science is clear: sleep is the ultimate form of rest and repair. Previously, diet and exercise took the wellness throne, but now we are seeing a shift to make room for sleep.
Matthew Walker, the writer of Why We Sleep, said, “Emerging from this research renaissance is an unequivocal message: sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day”.
And as it seems, he’s not wrong.
While you sleep, your brain saves memories, makes connections, and removes toxic waste. Your immune system produces reinforcements to help fight inflammation and infection. Sleep creates a flood of growth hormones to repair and grow the body. On the other hand, the drop in cortisol and flight-or-fight hormones help your body chill out after a long day. Beyond feeling happier, sleep research has linked sleep deprivation (less than 7 – 7.5 hours of sleep per night) to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, dementia and even – loneliness.
Sleep synching aligns your natural circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle) with your daily routine. Your circadian rhythm holds your body in a 24-hour clock – controlled mainly by light and dark, it regulates the release of hormones (such as melatonin and digestive enzymes). Sleep synching is where you nudge your routine to align with your circadian rhythm, for example:
- Consistently going to sleep and waking up at the same time.
- Waking up to sunlight.
- Cut back on blue light before bed.
- No caffeine after midday.
- Have a light meal in the evening.
- Swap out the bedtime social scroll with a book or pillow talk.
- Maintain ideal sleeping conditions at night (cool, dark, quiet).
As more people are shifting to find ways to sleep synch in 2023, we expect to see a rise in sleep-enhancing products, including supplements, blue light blockers and light dimmers.
Women’s Wellness
Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a big boom in opening up the conversation around menopause. Our Eat Your Age white paper covered the importance of nutrition during menopause extensively. This year we expect to see this conversation around women’s health widening to other conditions such as Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS), Sexual Dysfunction and infertility. Globally, these conditions affect 10-15%, 4-20%, 41%, and <16.7% of people, respectively. Treating these conditions is complicated and multi-faceted, with no one cure existing. People sharing their stories can help others feel less alone, depressed and frustrated by their situation. In the wellness market, expect growth in supplements with adaptogens (like our Protein Blends) and nootropics (cognitive aids).
We look forward to raising these topics more this year.
Research and Data-Driven Products
It’s a fact: 2023 consumers aren’t naive. They know how to research and critically analyse a product’s claims. Once upon a time, brands could print outlandish claims on their products, and they would sell out. These days, consumers are looking for evidence to back up every word. This goes for claims around sustainability to efficacy. As markets become crowded, companies must have concrete research and data to stand out. From the beginning, Pro You’s core value was to be a research-driven supplement range. Meaningful ingredients delivered in meaningful doses – nothing less. This year, we expect a rise in products backed by research and data. Reading research articles isn’t always straightforward, but here are some green flags to make sure the claims are legit:
- Ensure each claim has trials or research to back it up – preferably randomised control trials or peer-reviewed research.
- Go further than looking at the ingredient; evaluate the dose and study whether that is appropriate for your needs. Also, look into the source of ingredients (where it comes from) and the manufacturing conditions. Controlled regulations like GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) are a green flag.
- Don’t hesitate to contact the brand directly if you’re missing information.
- Be wary of instant result claims.
NEAT Living
Countries with the longest-living people are dubbed blue zone countries.
Blue zone country inhabitants tend to have high NEAT, or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT occurs when doing anything outside of sleeping and sport, including walking, gardening, housework, and even fidgeting. People with high NEAT scores tend to be on their feet and moving more. While this energy expenditure may seem small, it accumulates over the course of the day to create a sizable difference in metabolic rate compared to someone who sits at their desk, on the couch or in a car for most of the day. High energy expenditure can help combat obesity and bodily inflammation – without a punishing exercise regime or strict diet. People that live in blue zones by need and habit move around more through walking and performing chores – in fact, they don’t usually perform structured exercise. With more people becoming conscious of their health and how to live a longer, more vital life, finding ways to boost NEAT living will be pursued. We have already seen it through the 10,000-step challenge, standing desks, and desk treadmills. As well as these, we expect to see a rise in inactivity apps – that alert you when you’ve been sedentary – and smartwatches that track your daily movement. In saying this, the joy of increasing your NEAT is that you don’t need to go out and buy anything.
Six easy ways to increase your daily NEAT score:
- Choose the car park furthest from your destination (grocery store, mall, work).
- During your lunch break, take a walk after eating (this also helps to stabilise your blood sugar levels).
- If you’re on a phone call, walk around while talking.
- If you can, take the stairs, not the elevator, at every opportunity.
- If possible, walk to the grocery store.
- Set alarms throughout the day for a quick stand and stretch.
Workplace Wellness
The GWS has called it – 2023 renovations are underway for employee wellness. According to the GWS, 70% of knowledge workers experienced burnout last year. Workers are dissatisfied with their job life and are demanding more. Tiktok’s viral sensation of “quiet quitting” demonstrated this perfectly. Quiet quitting is doing the absolute minimum to your job requirements – no unpaid overtime or extra projects. With this shift of mentality, we expect to see companies trying to incorporate wellness on a meaningful level. Schemes such as company-wide vacations, hybrid work, accessible mental and financial help and four-day work weeks are all set to trickle into the company’s offerings to empower and lift their employees’ spirits. Based on the 4 Day Week Global (4WDG) organisation’s pilot tests, four-day work weeks were a success for both employees and employers. Workplace wellness doesn’t just place the workers better off; employers can enjoy the benefits of higher staff retention, productivity, and a lower carbon footprint.
