With a new year on the horizon, it’s no surprise that wellness enthusiasts are already looking ahead to forecast how they’ll take their self-care to the next level. Just about every week, it seems like a new Soul Cycle or Equinox has popped up — and emerging wellness brands such as FaceHaus, Shape House and Nap Bar are continuing to grow in appeal and popularity.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness market is now valued at $4.2 trillion, up 12.8% from $3.7 trillion in 2015 — and it’s only expected to continue growing over the next few years as we continue to recognize the importance of valuing ourselves first. As a result, and in an attempt to capitalize on consumer demand, just about every brand—from weight loss oriented companies such as WW and Jenny Craig to consumer brands such as Nestlé and GM — is repositioning itself as a wellness company. It’s a trend known as “the pivot to wellness.”
Our friends at MINDBODY recently conducted a 2020 wellness index study, and here’s where they think you’ll be spending all your coins next year to help you get zen.
Experiential Wellness
People love to experience wellness — with the most common being spa retreats, fitness pop-ups and wellness festivals. Forty-two percent of those polled valued experiences over material possession. That means in 2020, you’ll see your favorite brands capitalizing off the intersection of things you love to do — trap meets yoga, fitness pop-ups that intersect your favorite apparel companies, and we can’t forget wellness-focused vacations such as Cayman Rejuvenate and the Integrative Health Retreat at Carlisle Bay.
More Sleep
Sleep: we’re all craving it, but likely not getting enough of it. According to the National Sleep Foundation, forty-five perfect of Americans aren’t getting the sleep they deserve, but that will likely change in the new year. As people want to make this a growing priority, MINDBODY’s research showed that 57 percent of people consider sleep to be a luxury (and not a necessity), with 28 percent using sleep apps, to help with this. Expect more downloads of Sleep Cycle and Relax Melodies to help put you down each night. Other ways you can try to prioritize your sleep in 2020 include natural supplements, non-toxic mattresses and bedding such as Casper and Purple, or even popping in midday at a nap pod, such as Houston’s Nap Bar.
Emotional Wellness
Our emotional well being is just as, if not more important than physical. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed in MINDBODY’s 2020 Wellness Index study agree that personal wellness is a “never-ending” quest, and this will be seen in the new year by focusing on sustainable and realistic eating habits as well as making more time for your mental health — whether it be with therapy, meditation, journaling and expressing gratitude more often. This will be seen by individuals making both small and large actions to preserve their sanity — which as Black women, we need to spend more time doing.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
While Dr. Sebi had been promoting this for decades, mainstream America just now seems to be catching on. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to gain in popularity, so much so that 68% of those surveyed in the MINDBODY Wellness Index study agree that alternative medicine is a good complement to modern medicine. In addition to the most popular forms of this, like meditation, guided visualization, and breath work, getting acupuncture, acupressure, and even ear seeding are a few rising practices that will become a lot more accessible in the next year. So, it is no surprise that in 2020 many consumers will look to alternative medicine when it comes to healing and recovery of both the mind and body.