• 최종편집 2026-05-13(수)

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2026 인터참코리아, 오는 7월 1일~3일 글로벌 뷰티·화장품 B2B 전문 전시회 개최 팔리는 제품은 무엇이 다른가… CDRI, K-뷰티 서밋 핵심 아젠다 공개 국제 향수 원료 전시회 심파르에서 천연 원료 분야 리더십 선보이는 LMR 내추럴스 LG생활건강, 반얀트리 서울과 ‘더후 로얄 헤리티지 패키지’ 선보여 아모레퍼시픽 ‘Create New Beauty’ 비전 담은 플래그십 스토어 ‘아모레 용산’ 오픈 디밀, ‘뷰티 MCN’에서 ‘크리에이터 IP 솔루션 기업’으로 도약 좋은땅출판사, 시집 ‘생기꽃이 피는 행복한 날’ 출간 전북자치도 ‘선택과 집중’으로 차별화된 글로벌 스포츠 특화 도시 꿈꾼다 도파민부터 힐링까지, 시드니에서 즐길 수 있는 액티비티 7선 기후위기·재난으로 지친 마음, 지나치지 말고 치유하세요
  • Wehome Launches “K-POP Stay 2026” for BTS Comeback Tour
    Wehome (CEO Sangu Jo), Korea’s leading home-sharing platform, announced the official launch of “K-POP Stay 2026 (Seoul·Goyang·Busan)”, a special home-sharing campaign for global fans in celebration of BTS’s 5th studio album “ARIRANG” and their upcoming comeback performances. K-POP Stay 2026 connects overseas K-POP fans with local Korean citizen hosts, allowing them to stay in Korean homes and experience cultural exchange firsthand. In alignment with the large-scale concert schedule: · March 21 in Gwanghwamun, Seoul · April 9-12 at Goyang Sports Complex Stadium · June 12-13 in Busan Wehome will provide customized accommodations in each host city. Through this initiative, Wehome aims to address recurring issues of accommodation shortages and price surges during major concerts, while establishing a new travel and lodging culture called “K-POP Stay,” where fans and local communities are meaningfully connected. Hosts may participate either as: · Volunteer Hosts (ARMY members offering rooms without accommodation fees, receiving only actual expense reimbursement, such as cleaning costs), or · Paid Hosts operating legally under Korea’s home-sharing system. All newly registered listings undergo strict screening by Wehome managers to verify safety, cleanliness, and legal compliance. For paid hosts, Wehome utilizes its government-approved Regulatory Sandbox Demonstration Program, which allows legal home-sharing operations under official authorization. To protect international visitors, accommodation fees will be capped at no more than twice the average market rate for the same period in 2025, ensuring fair pricing and preventing excessive markups. The first round of host recruitment will begin in Seoul (Gwanghwamun, Jongno, Mapo, Gangnam, and surrounding areas) from February 13 to February 28, targeting 200 citizen hosts with available spare rooms. Hosts who wish to operate paid accommodations will receive expedited support for legal registration under Wehome’s regulatory sandbox program to minimize legal risks. Recruitment for Goyang (April concerts) and Busan (June concerts) will open sequentially in accordance with each concert schedule. Global guest applications for the March Seoul concert will be accepted from March 1 to March 5. Selected guests (after fan verification) will receive exclusive benefits including: · VIP airport van service (for groups of up to 10) · Welcome kits featuring K-Beauty amenities and Korean-language merchandise · Luggage storage service (Wehome Keep) Abraham Shim, Co-CEO of Wehome, stated, “K-POP Stay 2026 is a privately led cultural exchange campaign that safely supports the massive global movement of K-POP fandom from Seoul to Goyang and Busan. We hope international fans can experience both Korea’s K-POP landmarks and everyday Korean life through stays in citizen hosts’ homes.”
    • In English
    • Korea Today
    2026-02-13
  • Global Wellness Summit Releases Top 10 Wellness Trends for 2026
    The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its annual Future of Wellness report, a 150-page forecast widely regarded as the longest-running and most comprehensive outlook on the ideas set to transform the global health and wellness industry in the year ahead. According to GWS, the wellness market has undergone more disruption in the past few years than in the previous two decades combined. The industry has been rapidly reshaped by high-tech, medicalized, and hyper-optimizing approaches—from the boom in longevity clinics to the explosion of diagnostics and wearable health devices. At the same time, a powerful countercurrent has emerged: a growing desire for low-tech, deeply human, social, and emotionally grounded forms of wellness. These polarities now define the wellness market—and form the foundation of the 2026 trends report. “In 2026, we’ll see a backlash against over-optimization and the bold return of pleasure and joy; women finally getting their own lanes in longevity and sports; longevity expanding into real estate and beauty; and wellness tackling major crises such as disaster preparedness, microplastics, and nervous system exhaustion,” GWS noted. Four Defining Themes for 2026 1) An Over-Optimization Backlash: The Return of the Human After years of data-driven self-tracking, many consumers are experiencing fatigue from the pressure to constantly measure and perfect their health. Sleep scores, glucose graphs, aging biomarkers, and performance metrics have turned wellbeing into a relentless project of self-surveillance. In response, wellness is shifting toward experiences that prioritize emotion, sensation, connection, and joy over metrics. Rituals, catharsis, and self-expression are gaining ground over clinical performance tracking. This shift is visible in trends such as “The Festivalization of Wellness,” where music, dance, and collective emotional release define new wellness gatherings, and “Fragrance Layering,” where scent becomes a creative, cultural, and deeply personal language rather than a status symbol. 2) The Year of Women Long-standing gender inequities in major wellness markets are beginning to correct—especially in longevity and sports. The longevity industry has largely been built around male biology. However, research increasingly shows that women age differently, with ovarian health playing a central role in systemic aging. As a result, longevity science and wellness services are pivoting toward women’s healthspan, requiring diagnostics and interventions tailored to each life stage. Meanwhile, women’s sports are experiencing a long-awaited tipping point. New leagues, surging female fandom, and the rise of female athletes as cultural and commercial powerhouses are transforming the sports economy. Globally, more women are shifting from solitary fitness routines toward empowering, community-based sports participation. 3) Longevity Expands in New Directions Longevity is moving beyond clinics and resorts into everyday life. A new category of “longevity residences” is emerging within wellness real estate, integrating preventive medicine, advanced diagnostics, AI-enabled health tracking, and biohacking directly into residential environments. In beauty, the concept of “skin longevity” is replacing traditional anti-aging narratives. Innovations in regenerative science, biotech, AI-driven diagnostics, and advanced active ingredients are reframing skincare as a long-term strategy to maintain the skin’s function and overall health—positioning skin as both the body’s largest organ and a key indicator of systemic wellbeing. 4) Wellness Tackles Major Environmental and Human Crises As climate disasters, environmental pollution, and chronic stress become everyday realities, crisis response is becoming a new pillar of wellness. The trend “Ready Is the New Well” reframes disaster preparedness as a form of preventive health, where having an emergency plan becomes as essential as having a fitness routine. At the same time, microplastics—now detected in human blood, lungs, placentas, and even the brain—are emerging as a critical human health issue, pushing both public health and the wellness industry from awareness toward action. Additionally, neurowellness is rising as a major frontier. With modern digital life keeping nervous systems in a constant state of low-grade fight-or-flight, regulating the nervous system is becoming central to health. Solutions range from consumer neurotechnology and vagus nerve stimulation devices to somatic practices, breathwork, and touch therapies. The Top 10 Wellness Trends for 2026 According to GWS, the ten trends set to shape the global wellness landscape in 2026 are: 1. Women Get Their Own Lane in Longevity The longevity industry has long operated on a male-centric model, with research, diagnostics, and treatment protocols largely extrapolated from male biology. That paradigm is now shifting. Mounting scientific evidence shows that women age differently, with ovarian health functioning as a central regulator of systemic aging. The decline of ovarian function—particularly during menopause—has been linked to accelerated risks for conditions such as osteoporosis, dementia, immune disorders, and cardiovascular disease. In response, the next frontier in longevity science focuses on women’s healthspan, not just lifespan. Research into slowing ovarian aging—from stem cell therapies to interventions targeting ovarian fibrosis—is gaining momentum. The wellness industry is evolving accordingly, moving beyond menopause symptom management toward life-stage–specific longevity strategies. This includes ovarian reserve testing as a routine health metric, renewed interest in hormone replacement therapy as a longevity tool, and strength training reframed as essential—not optional—for women’s long-term vitality. Wellness resorts, longevity clinics, digital health platforms, and fitness brands are all adapting services to address women’s biological realities more precisely. 2. The Over-Optimization Backlash Health has never been more measurable—yet it has rarely felt so psychologically demanding. From sleep scores and glucose monitors to aging clocks and recovery metrics, self-tracking tools have turned wellness into a constant performance evaluation. While these technologies offer valuable insight, therapists and clinicians increasingly warn of “data fatigue,” anxiety, and decision paralysis caused by the pressure to continuously optimize. The over-optimization backlash represents a cultural pivot away from relentless self-surveillance and toward nervous-system safety, emotional wellbeing, and pleasure. Wellness spaces are emphasizing rituals over results and experience over metrics. Social saunas, low-stimulation retreats, pleasure-forward nutrition, and somatic release classes are expanding globally. Even major athletic brands are shifting marketing language from performance and intensity toward softness, presence, and joy. Technology itself is adapting, with a rise in “quiet tech” that regulates the body in the background without constant dashboards or alerts. 3. The Rise of Neurowellness Neurowellness is moving from niche to mainstream as consumers recognize that many chronic health issues stem from nervous system dysregulation, not lack of discipline. Persistent stress keeps the body in a low-grade fight-or-flight state, contributing to poor sleep, inflammation, hormone disruption, anxiety, and burnout. Sleep tracking first exposed this issue at scale, but solutions are now expanding. “Hard-care” neurowellness includes consumer neurotechnology such as vagus nerve stimulation devices, EEG-guided sleep systems, and at-home neuromodulation tools. Clinical neurofeedback platforms are also becoming more accessible. At the same time, “soft-care” modalities—breathwork, touch therapy, yoga, Feldenkrais, and somatic practices—are increasingly recognized as evidence-based nervous system interventions. As brain–body research advances, neurowellness is spreading into mental healthcare, hospitality, fitness studios, and real estate, making nervous system regulation an integrated feature of everyday environments. 4. Fragrance Layering Fragrance is evolving from a luxury accessory into a form of personal expression and emotional regulation. Fragrance layering—the practice of combining multiple scents to create a unique signature—is reviving ancient scent traditions while embracing modern identity culture. Driven largely by Gen Z and Millennials, layering is flourishing on social platforms and in niche fragrance communities. Consumers are building “fragrance wardrobes,” experimenting with mood-shifting scent combinations, and attending layering workshops. The trend extends beyond the body into environments, where evolving scent profiles are used to influence mood and ritual. Smart fragrance technology and AI tools are enabling dynamic scent changes throughout the day, transforming fragrance into an interactive, personalized wellness tool rather than a static product. 5. Ready Is the New Well As climate disasters and extreme weather events become more frequent, preparedness is emerging as a new dimension of preventative wellness. “Ready Is the New Well” reframes emergency readiness as part of holistic resilience—where mental health, physical strength, and community interdependence converge. Wellness businesses are beginning to incorporate preparedness into their offerings. Fitness centers may double as emergency shelters, retreats may include resilience training, and demand is growing for disaster-resilient architecture. The wellness industry is also positioned to support the psychological impact of crisis—helping people manage chronic fear while also processing trauma from events already experienced. Practical readiness, once seen as survivalist or fringe, is entering the mainstream wellness conversation. 6. Skin Longevity Redefines Beauty The beauty industry is shifting from anti-aging to skin longevity, a science-driven approach focused on maintaining the skin’s function and resilience over time. Skin is increasingly understood as both the body’s largest organ and a visible indicator of systemic health. This movement is fueled by biotech innovation, AI-powered skin diagnostics, and new regenerative ingredients that target cellular repair and long-term tissue health. Rather than reversing visible signs of age, the goal is to extend the skin’s optimal performance across decades. The concept is expanding to include scalp and hair longevity, emphasizing follicle health and regenerative therapies. This reframing aligns beauty more closely with preventative healthcare and longevity science. 7. The Festivalization of Wellness Wellness is becoming more social, expressive, and immersive through large-scale, festival-like gatherings. These events respond to widespread loneliness, digital fatigue, and economic stress by offering collective joy, emotional release, and shared identity. Wellness raves, sober dance events, multi-day retreats, and hybrid music-wellness festivals are growing worldwide. Movement, sauna rituals, creative workshops, and somatic practices are woven into communal experiences that prioritize participation over perfection. Luxury resorts and major festival brands alike are incorporating wellness programming, while grassroots events transform dance floors into spaces for catharsis and connection. The result is a cultural shift where wellness becomes a shared, emotionally rich experience rather than a solitary pursuit. 8. Women and Sports: The Revolution Continues Women’s sports are experiencing a structural transformation, not just a moment of visibility. New professional leagues are launching, media coverage is expanding, and global audiences for women’s competitions are reaching record levels. Female athletes are also becoming influential entrepreneurs and cultural leaders, building brands in fashion, beauty, and wellness. At the grassroots level, more women are joining leagues, strength training, and choosing performance over aesthetics. Women-only gyms and sports communities are expanding worldwide. This movement is reshaping not just athletics but broader definitions of strength, leadership, and representation across the wellness economy. 9. Tackling Microplastics as a Human Health Issue Microplastics have moved from an environmental concern to a direct human health issue. These particles are now being detected in human blood, lungs, placentas, and brain tissue. Exposure occurs through food, water, air, clothing fibers, and consumer products. Early research links microplastics to inflammation, endocrine disruption, cardiovascular risks, and potential neurological effects. As evidence grows, the wellness and medical sectors are beginning to address the issue more actively. Innovations include plastic-free consumer goods, filtration systems, and clinical approaches aimed at reducing body burden. Microplastic exposure may soon become a routinely monitored health marker, influencing design decisions across architecture, fashion, food systems, and healthcare. 10. Longevity Residences Longevity is entering the built environment through a new category of wellness real estate: longevity residences. These homes and communities are designed to actively support long-term health through integrated medical and technological systems. Features may include on-site diagnostics, AI-driven health monitoring, circadian lighting, air and water optimization, and access to preventive medicine and concierge healthcare. Unlike traditional wellness real estate, which focuses on amenities, longevity residences aim to remove friction from healthy living and embed health optimization into daily life. As populations age and investment in longevity science grows, the home itself is becoming a central platform for extending healthspan. The Future of Wellness report is the only trends forecast based on insights from hundreds of global health and wellness experts who gather annually at the Global Wellness Summit. Each trend includes detailed sub-trends, scientific context, and examples of companies pioneering these emerging directions. The full 2026 Future of Wellness Trends report is available on the official Global Wellness Summit website.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2026-01-28
  • Global Wellness Economy Reaches Record $6.8 Trillion, Set to Hit $9.8 Trillion by 2029
    The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) announced on the 19th the release of its Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2025, the industry’s only comprehensive research report covering the global wellness market and its 11 major sectors. According to the new data, the wellness economy continues its strong and accelerating trajectory, reaching an all-time high of $6.8 trillion in 2024, a 7.9% increase from the previous year and nearly double the size recorded in 2013. GWI confirmed that the global market has fully moved beyond the “pandemic recovery” stage, as all 11 wellness sectors have now surpassed their 2019 levels—many by significant margins. Among them, wellness real estate and mental wellness have been the fastest-growing categories over the past five years, expanding at annual rates of 19.5% and 12.4%, respectively. One exception is workplace wellness, which recorded a 1.5% decline from 2023 to 2024. Still, the broader regional markets have shown marked vitality, with North America (7.9%), the Middle East-North Africa (7.2%), and Europe (6.3%) posting notable annual growth. Wellness, A Massive Economic Force: The scale of the global wellness economy has now surpassed several other mega-industries. At $6.8 trillion, wellness is larger than sports ($2.7T), tourism ($5T), the green economy ($5.1T), and information technology ($5.3T). It is nearly four times the size of the pharmaceutical sector ($1.8T) and represents 60% of total global health expenditures, which amount to $11.2 trillion. Wellness accounted for 6.1% of global GDP in 2024, up from 5.7% in 2019, and is projected to rise to 7.1% by 2029. GWI forecasts that wellness spending will continue to accelerate at 7.6% annually through 2029, pushing the market to $9.8 trillion. The strongest projected performers include wellness real estate (15.8%), traditional and complementary medicine (10.8%), mental wellness (10.1%), and thermal/mineral springs (10%). “Now that the wellness economy has fully recovered from the pandemic, we can see how unstoppable it is as a consumer trend, and also how much the future growth has been accelerated by our pandemic experiences,” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow. “There’s been a sea change in consumer mindsets, with prevention, mental health, social connection, the impacts of our living environments, and nature becoming dramatically more important all over the world. These shifts are fueling growth across all wellness sectors––from wellness real estate and mental wellness to hot springs and social bathing to more sophisticated preventative medical-wellness solutions.” The 140-page report presents detailed market data, sector-level analyses, and projections for all 11 wellness categories, along with regional trends and the top 20 national markets. A new chapter for 2025 explores key forces shaping the future of wellness and why some segments are expanding more quickly than others. Which Wellness Markets Will Grow Fastest? Among recent trends, wellness real estate remains the standout performer, doubling in size over the past five years. Mental wellness continues to surge, driven by increasing levels of stress worldwide and heightened prioritization of psychological wellbeing among younger demographics. The U.S. leads the mental wellness market at $125 billion, far outpacing China in second place at $16 billion. Sub-markets with especially strong growth over the past five years include cannabis products (26%), meditation and mindfulness (18.9%), and sleep-related products and services (12.6%). Four significant categories—personal care and beauty; healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss; physical activity; and traditional and complementary medicine—maintained stable annual growth of around 5% from 2019 to 2024. Meanwhile, tourism-related sectors experienced a strong rebound between 2023 and 2024: wellness tourism grew 13.8%, spas 14.6%, and thermal/mineral springs 11.1%, placing them among the year’s strongest performers. Per capita wellness spending varies widely by region, with North America at $6,029 and Europe at $1,876, while Latin America-Caribbean ($607), Asia ($471), and the Middle East-North Africa ($339) remain significantly lower. Looking ahead, GWI projects that by 2029, six wellness sectors will exceed $1 trillion in market size: personal care and beauty; healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss; physical activity; wellness tourism; wellness real estate; and traditional and complementary medicine. Thermal and mineral springs are also expected to be a standout performer, bolstered by a global surge in social bathing culture and significant investments in springs-based destinations.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2025-11-20
  • Asia Spa Experts Gather in Jeju for the 2025 Asia Spa Industry Union Summit
    The 2025 Asia Spa Industry Union Summit (ASIUS 2025) was successfully held on November 10 at Hotel Sirius in Jeju, bringing together spa experts from five Asian countries. Co-hosted by the Korea Spa Wellness Society (KorSpa) and the Healthcare & Spa Industry Promotion Agency (HESPA), the summit welcomed more than 60 delegates and industry leaders from Korea, Japan, China, Mongolia, and Malaysia. The event featured national spa industry trend presentations and academic research reports from scholars of the Korean Academy of Hot Spring. Mr. Hideo Yoshida, President of the Japan Spa & Sauna Association, shared Japan’s initiatives to revitalize its sauna industry through Aufguss competitions, manga-based promotional strategies, and specialized training programs. The Chinese delegation highlighted the continued growth of China’s spa industry driven by rising demand for health and relaxation, noting particularly strong development in Hainan Province and Shenyang in Liaoning. Representing Korea, Dr. Woo Jong Min of HESPA presented the development of the “Good Spa” certification system aimed at enhancing standardization and service quality. The summit also included an awards segment recognizing outstanding contributions to the Asian spa sector. Korea’s K-WAVE Co., Ltd. received top honors as both the “Medical Spa Medical Beauty Marketing & Service Best Management Agency” and the “Medical Spa Anti-aging Marketing & Service Best Management Agency,” while PREO, one of Korea’s leading faucet and spa equipment brands, was named Best Brand in the equipment category. In addition, Jeju-based cosmetic brands—including THE PURE LOTUS, DAILISH, MAROHAN, JEJU INDI, THE WOO COMPANY, and 6-DROPS—were showcased and drew substantial interest from international attendees. The next summit will be hosted by the Chinese association, with Shenyang, China emerging as the leading candidate for March 2026. Paul Ha-young Song, President of KorSpa, stated that spa services across Asia are evolving in diverse and innovative ways amid growing wellness demand, emphasizing the importance of strengthening cross-border information and human exchange to support shared and sustainable development across the Asian spa and wellness industry. KorSpa President Paul H. Song (left) and JSSA President Hideo Yoshiada (middle) hand over the Union flag to Mr. Zhang Jinzhong (right), President of China Spa Association, the next host of the summit.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2025-11-13
  • TOURISE Announces USD 113BN in Portfolio Investments to Accelerate the Future of Tourism
    TOURISE, the bold global platform shaping a new horizon for tourism, has announced that it has catalyzed investment portfolios totaling USD 113BN at the inaugural TOURISE Summit in Riyadh. The milestone reflects TOURISE’s mission to unlock high‑value deal flow by convening public and private sector leaders across tourism, technology, investment, and sustainability to set a shared roadmap for the next 50 years of global tourism. The announced portfolio investments span the full breadth of the visitor economy: luxury retail, next‑generation hotel accommodation, large‑scale integrated, experience‑led developments, wellness, destination and lifestyle offerings, talent development, and AI‑powered platforms. Collectively, these commitments set a new standard for what’s possible, and what’s required, to meet future tourism needs and redesign the traveler journey.Just some of the international and local companies who announced their portfolios as part of the USD 113BN include: Melia Hotels, BWH Hotels, GOCO Hospitality, Cenomi, Radisson, Earth Hotels, Delonix & Ocean Link, AlFozan Holding, Al Kathiri Holding, Alothaim, and Knowledge Economic City.By combining hard infrastructure with human capital, and fusing data, design, and hospitality, these investments will unlock new value across the tourism ecosystem, create new job opportunities, and deliver unforgettable, purpose‑driven experiences at scale. Above all, many were Saudi focused, cementing the Kingdom’s international competitiveness and desirability as a leading global travel destination, where culture, innovation, and world‑class service come together, and signal to partners and investors that this is where the next era of tourism growth is to be built.Investment ushers in the next chapter of the global tourism economyHis Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Board of TOURISE, commented “TOURISE has been the catalyst that brings investors, policymakers, and innovators to the same table, turning vision into bankable partnerships and high‑impact deals. Together, we’re redefining the entire traveler economy—powered by AI, built on destination and experience excellence, and designed so growth and opportunity extend across the ecosystem.”Today’s announcement advances TOURISE’s founding purpose: to unite decision‑makers and disruptors across the public and private spheres to accelerate transformative partnerships and convert ambition into action through high‑impact dealmaking. With the announcement of such unprecedented levels in the tourism ecosystem, it highlights how TOURISE brings the right people together at the right time to drive outcomes that will reshape how the world travels, connects, and grows.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2025-11-13
  • Oslo to Host the 19th International Sauna Congress in 2026
    The Norwegian Sauna Association (Norges Badstulaug) has announced that the 19th International Sauna Congress (ISC 2026) will take place in Oslo from September 24–26, 2026, bringing together more than 500 sauna experts, enthusiasts, and industry leaders from around the world. Hosted at SALT Art & Music and The Well Spa & Hotel, the largest spa facility in the Nordics, ISC 2026 will explore the evolving role of saunas in modern life through three main themes: Sauna & Health, Global Sauna Culture, and Architecture, Technology & Sustainability. “ISC26 will bring the global sauna community together like never before,” said Lasse Eriksen, President of the Norwegian Sauna Association. “It’s the most important meeting place for anyone seeking to stay updated on the new frontiers of sauna research and knowledge.” Eriksen added, “Hosting the congress in Oslo gives us the opportunity to showcase not only what has been achieved, but what is possible — from design and sustainability to the many ways sauna nurtures community, health, and well-being. This will be a truly unique meeting of tradition and innovation.” Mr. Lasse Eriksen, President of the Norwegian Sauna Association Venues and Highlights The congress will open at Oslo City Hall, the same historic venue where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony takes place each year, featuring cultural performances and an introduction to Norway’s vibrant sauna boom. Main sessions will be held at SALT Art & Music, a waterfront “sauna village” and cultural landmark, and The Well Spa & Hotel, which also serves as the main sponsor of the event. The three-day program will include talks, expert panels, networking sessions, and immersive sauna experiences—both in urban environments and in nature—celebrating the diversity of sauna traditions across the world. For details, visit: www.saunacongress2026.org The Rise of Norway’s Badstue Culture In recent years, Norway has experienced a dramatic expansion of its public badstue scene — the original Norwegian word for sauna — with new floating saunas on the fjords, forest retreats, urban sauna villages, and architecturally ambitious designs emphasizing sustainability and community engagement. “The growth of Norway’s progressive, nature-based, and urban badstue culture has been nothing short of spectacular,” said Eriksen. “We’ve seen saunas rise from the edges of fjords to the heart of city waterfronts — projects built by communities, architects, and operators who share a vision that sauna belongs to everyone, and that it can beautifully reflect nature, culture, and modern life in harmony.”
    • In English
    • Global News
    2025-10-29

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    Doxy.me Removes Telemedicine Barriers
    Doxy.me, a free, secure telemedicine solution, stands ready to meet increased demand for a simple, convenient way for healthcare providers to meet with their patients remotely, promising to improve the health care experience during this critical time. Most telemedicine software products require a lengthy sales cycle, including training, legal review, and software or hardware to install. The process can take weeks to months to get up and running. Doxy.me was designed to be easy to install and simple to use; there are no downloads or apps to install and patients don't need to create accounts. The process is automated, so providers can start practicing telemedicine quickly, even within minutes. This approach means that Doxy.me is perfectly suited to handle the urgent demand for a telemedicine solution during the coronavirus outbreak. “We’ve seen our sign-ups skyrocket over the past week, and we expect those numbers to keep doubling every day. We’re thrilled that we are in a position to make a difference in the world through our technology,” said Brandon Welch, Founder, Doxy.me. “We believe everyone should have access to telemedicine, and our focus is on assisting the providers and professionals trying to keep people safe and healthy.” By incorporating standard clinical workflows such as patient check-in and waiting room into the design of Doxy.me, healthcare providers and their patients experience a familiar and natural visit. All the patient needs to start a telemedicine visit is a web link to the doctor’s Doxy.me room using a standard computer. “Doxy.me brokers an encrypted peer-to-peer connection between a provider and the patient, meaning our server infrastructure won't become overburdened with high video load usage. This means we can scale indefinitely and can provide a free solution to healthcare providers,” said Dylan Turner, COO, Doxy.me. “Doxy.me is easy to set up, easy to use, and the pricing option is transparent. This means that my busy private-practice office can triage possible coronavirus cases and see patents who are afraid to come in. I was able to set up and implement a telemedicine option overnight,” said Jessica Baker, Baker Family Medical Associates.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2020-03-19
  • AJ Vaccines To Develop Vaccine for COVID-19
    “This endeavor reiterates our ambition to serve the global community, not only with existing effective high-quality vaccines, but also with the development of innovative new vaccines to answer the current global challenge of coronavirus COVID-19”, says Dr Tabassum Khan, Chairman to AJ Vaccines. Committed to prevent serious disease globally “The impact of the COVID-19 disease globally is developing by the hour and we are committed to a world free of serious diseases across all generations. Our employees are aware of the current challenges and are dedicated to finding solutions to the COVID-19 challenge with state-of-the-art technology”, says Jesper Helmuth Larsen, CEO AJ Vaccines. High protection, low risk of side effects “The main principle of vaccination is to proactively induce a protective immune response by mimicking the natural interaction of infectious pathogens with our immune system. Modern antigen technology allows for the production of vaccines combining high protection with a low reactogenicity and favorable safety profile as compared to some of the more traditional vaccines. Our aim is to combine the best possibly designed antigens in such a way to mimic closely the authentic native structures of the virus. Similar technologies were previously successfully applied in US FDA-approved vaccines. In short, the use of such technology is expected to induce the relevant immune responses and therefore protect against disease with a lower risk for side effects”, concludes Jerome Cabannes, COO AJ Vaccines.
    • In English
    • Global News
    2020-03-10
  • Coronavirus IS a Pandemic — WHO, Declare It Now!
    Since AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) released a statement this past Tuesday calling for World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic - cases have soared in Italy, Iran and South Korea, and the deadly virus has also spread to Mexico and Nigeria. WHO must immediately declare COVID-19 a pandemic. AHF also calls on United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), as COVID-19 has now spread to over 50 countries worldwide, further threatening global security and the response. “Whether it’s WHO declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, or ensuring emergency supplies are readily available globally - the United Nations must step up its actions on the entire outbreak response,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “All available assets and proven public health interventions must be rapidly deployed to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the frontline responders—because as we’ve seen in past infectious disease outbreaks, like Ebola in West and East Africa—when people and organizations fail to act responsively, thousands of people needlessly die and entire communities and regions are left devastated.” COVID-19 cases worldwide have reached nearly 84,000, resulting in nearly 2,900 deaths. While cases in China are decreasing, more and more countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Mexico and Nigeria are steadily reporting new cases. “When a deadly pathogen is killing thousands of people across dozens of countries on every continent except for Antarctica - it’s a no brainer - this is clearly a pandemic,” added Weinstein. “Our entire focus must now shift to doing all that’s necessary to save lives.”
    • In English
    • Global News
    2020-03-02
  • Coronavirus IS a Pandemic — WHO, Declare It Now!
    Since AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) released a statement this past Tuesday calling for World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to declare the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic - cases have soared in Italy, Iran and South Korea, and the deadly virus has also spread to Mexico and Nigeria. WHO must immediately declare COVID-19 a pandemic. AHF also calls on United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to immediately convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), as COVID-19 has now spread to over 50 countries worldwide, further threatening global security and the response. “Whether it’s WHO declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, or ensuring emergency supplies are readily available globally - the United Nations must step up its actions on the entire outbreak response,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “All available assets and proven public health interventions must be rapidly deployed to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the frontline responders—because as we’ve seen in past infectious disease outbreaks, like Ebola in West and East Africa—when people and organizations fail to act responsively, thousands of people needlessly die and entire communities and regions are left devastated.” COVID-19 cases worldwide have reached nearly 84,000, resulting in nearly 2,900 deaths. While cases in China are decreasing, more and more countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Mexico and Nigeria are steadily reporting new cases. “When a deadly pathogen is killing thousands of people across dozens of countries on every continent except for Antarctica - it’s a no brainer - this is clearly a pandemic,” added Weinstein. “Our entire focus must now shift to doing all that’s necessary to save lives.”
    • In English
    • Global News
    2020-03-02
  • GWS Releases In-Depth Report, “The Future of Wellness 2020”
    Experts identify 10 future wellness trends: From the focus shifting from sleep to true circadian health, aging getting a cool rebrand, a surge in fertility and mental wellness technology and the rise of wellness music and the wellness sabbatical The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) released its top 10 wellness trends for 2020 at a press event at Hearst Tower in NYC, the new directions that the organization believes will have the most meaningful—not fleeting—impact on the $4.5 trillion global wellness industry. The trends emerged from the insights of the 550 experts from 50 nations that gathered at the recent Summit, including top economists, doctors, academics, technologists and the CEOs of international corporations across all fields of wellness—making for a uniquely informed and global set of predictions. 10 WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2020 (1) Focus Shifts from Sleep to True Circadian Health We’ve never been so sleep-obsessed. We pony up for sleep-tracking Oura rings, the latest, smartest mattresses, and meditative sleep headbands; crawl into nap pods; and travel far to bed down at sleep retreats. We gobble sleep tonics, CBD and even “sleep ice cream.” We’ve been hit by a storm of generic sleep products, driving a $432 billion “sleep economy,”* and we’re still not sleeping. Why? Because most sleep solutions, and our modern lives, defy the basic facts of circadian biology. Humans evolved to be ultra-sensitive to the 24-hour cycle of the sun. The bedrock of circadian science is that regular light/dark cycles (the bright, blue light of day, darkness at dusk) are the daily “time cues” needed to reset our circadian clocks every single day. Our magnificent, internal, light-timed circadian rhythms control almost every system in our bodies: from our sleep/wake cycles to our immune and m etabolic systems. Of course, today, we humans have created the most radical disconnect between natural solar time and our social “clocks.” Modern life is a “lightmare”: We blast our brains after dusk with blue-enriched light from ever-brighter, addictive screens, while we’re deprived of the natural sunlight of the day, trapped at desks. The result: unprecedented circadian and sleep disruptions. No smart pillow or CBD can reset circadian rhythms: The only solutions that can have the TIMING of LIGHT at their center. We predict a major shift in wellness: less focus on solutions targeting sleep/fatigue and a new focus on circadian health optimization, not only so we can sleep but to boost the brain/body systems controlled by the circadian clock. As Harvard’s Dr. Steven Lockley argues: “Circadian health optimization—incorporating the type and timing of light—will soon become more important than ‘sleep.’ Solutions that realign our internal circadian clocks with each other, and our internal clocks with the outside world, will surge.” Light—and the timing of light and biology—will become far more important, from circadian lighting to circadian diets to apps that use timed light doses to crush jet lag. More people will finally spend a few bucks on bulbs, bringing tunable, biodynamic, circadian lighting into their homes, to automatically deliver bright blue light in the day and dimmer, warmer light (think: campfire colors) at dusk. There’s an explosion of options, whether Healthe, Savant or Dyson Lightcycle. Hotels, wellness resorts and airlines have gone all-in on sleep, throwing every amenity/program imaginable at travelers’ exhaustion. Now the travel industry will think beyond the sleep massages and bed wars, and circadian science will transform travel. Jet lag is being eliminated by the Timeshifter app. Input your itinerary(s), and Timeshifter gives you a personal schedule of when you must take/avoid bright light, sleep and not sleep, etc. (Yes, you’ll be sporting sunglasses inside airports.) It works like magic; Six Senses and United Airlines have already signed on, and this light dosage-based tech could expand to “timeshifting” shift workers to new work schedules—and more. We’ll see more circadian “light moves” at destinations such as Germany’s Lanserhof Tegernsee’s circadian medicine program, with medical analyses of guests’ sleep-wake rhythms, light therapy and blue light-filter glasses at night, high-tech beds and sleepwear that optimize sleep temperature, and kill-switches in rooms that shut off all light and Wi-Fi. As the science mounts that it’s when we eat that has the profound m etabolic and weight loss consequences, intermittent fasting (eating in an 8–10-hour window) has become the hottest diet trend. But science suggests that it’s not just the “intermittency,” but the fact that eating is circadian-synched that’s the lynchpin, as humans evolved to eat in the day. We’ll see more people adopting a circadian diet: eating when it’s light, stopping when it’s dark. Circadian medicine is moving fast. In a few years, it’s likely that a single blood, saliva or breath sample will be able to pinpoint our precise circadian clock-state, and apps could then inform us when to take in light and dark, sleep and rise, and eat and exercise. We expect some circadian market mayhem ahead (very bright and dim ideas). But the right timing of light and biology will move closer to the heart of wellness. Finally. (2) Aging Rebranded: Positively Cool Baby boomers redefined aging, and now the market is finally catching up to them. Unlike previous generations, today’s 55+ are anything but boring; they’re active, vivacious, and far more engaged in exciting endeavors. Today’s retirees start businesses, run marathons, and travel widely. They own motorcycles and increasingly scoop up hip downtown condos. Even perceptions about their physicality is are underestimated: They are now the fastest-growing gym membership group and show the highest rate of frequent attendance. That’s because they have the time and money to do so. In countries such as the US and Japan, boomers control the highest percentage of disposable income. They spend nearly five hours a day on smartphones and spend more on online shopping than millennials. And yet, this powerful demographic attracts only 10 percent of marketing budgets and less than 1 percent of global innovation. The World Health Organization predicts the 60+ population will nearly double by 2050 from 12 percent to 22 percent. Companies are wising up. Across the spectrum, from beauty to food, brands now cater to this long-ignored group. They’re finally answering boomers’ call: Why shouldn’t they receive the same cool content and products as millennials? Older populations have more medical concerns, but now these issues are treated sensitively and with the same aspirational design and marketing afforded to young demographics. Willow, an underwear brand for people with incontinence, is unlike its bulky diaper-like predecessors; the collection comes in sleek designs that echo the style of trendy fashion labels. Even adult nutrition drinks are getting a much-needed makeover. Perennial is a plant-based beverage taking on industry stalwarts such as Ensure and Boost with its almond vanilla taste. Their ad campaign features buff senior citizens running on a beach with the tagline, “longevity tastes good.” We’re just at the tip of the iceberg. Industry analysts predict that more conglomerates will invest resources in the senior market, adding new products and experiences that attest to the boomers’ vibrancy. They’re living longer and healthier, and the market can no longer afford to ignore them. (3) J-Wellness Japan is the longevity nation: It has more centenarians per capita than any country on Earth. It’s a result of Japan’s unique culture of wellness, which unites ancient healing traditions with ingenious people-focused tech/design and innovative social policy. In the last few years, various Japanese wellness approaches became global trends: “Ikigai,” the lifelong pursuit of finding your true purpose; the spiritual value of minimalism and auditing our possessions (made viral by Marie Kondo); forest bathing (Shinrin-Yoku), meditative movement through the forest; and Wabi-sabi, the philosophy of embracing imperfection and transience. But these trends have been consumed piecemeal, and Japan is distinctly humble about its rich wellness assets. We think that will change: “J-Wellness” will increasingly be embraced as a holistic culture of wellbeing—from its innovations for our ageing world to the breakthroughs in J-Beauty to a reverence for nature and meditative ritual as preventative healthcare. The world is ageing at a historic pace, and Japan, the first super-ageing nation, is experiencing first what the rest of us will soon. It’s innovating for the world’s “longevity economy,” pioneering solutions that could help all of us age better, whether new technology or intergenerational community design. Japan is busy developing “age-tech,” including social robots that provide emotional and physical support for older people and smart companionship for our lonely world, whether the AI-driven PARO seal robot or Sony’s aibo puppy. Wellness is rewriting beauty—and natural, functional, prevention-focused and hyper-personalized ingredients are surging—so look for J-Beauty’s super-unique, high-nature and high-science beauty approaches and brands to rise. In Japan, purity is a cultural obsession, and J-Beauty is all about cleansing and layering light, super-hydrating products (essence lotions, such as SK II’s patented version with 50 micronutrients, and watery serums, etc.). The goal: Skin so healthy and bright (“bihaku”) makeup isn’t needed. Nature and spiritual rituals as medicine are central to Japanese culture, and their unique wellness experiences are being fast developed at home for tourists while getting exported to destinations worldwide. Japan developed forest bathing in the 80s (they boast 62 official healing forests)—and we all know how this poetic practice has exploded at wellness resorts worldwide, with everything from “forest spas” to “forest skating” now rising. Japan is home to two-thirds of all hot springs destinations, and their authentic onsen culture is evolving: New luxury onsen resorts are springing up across Japan, and the onsen experience is now being exported to China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia by Japanese companies such as Hoshino Resorts. Japan is out in front of a rising wellness travel trend, the monastery stay, having opened up hundreds of Buddhist temples to tourists, and even creating an Airbnb of monastery booking (Terahaku). It’s bringing attention to ancient Japanese wellness approaches such as Shojin Ryori, the vegan temple food prepared by monks, a way of eating that’s all about contemplation. The communal, meditative ritual of the tea ceremony is now a hot wellness trend. All eyes will be on Japan this summer as they host the Olympics. It will spur fascination with J-Wellness, an ever-evolving culture of ancient-meets-hyper-modern approaches, products and solutions for wellbeing. (4) Mental Wellness and Technology: Rethinking the Relationship Awareness of the need to address mental health has grown significantly in the last few years. A broad category, this includes mental illness and neurological disorders but also new categories spanning anxiety, stress and despair. Issues such as climate change-induced anxiety and work-induced stress are commonplace. Last year, the World Health Organization declared “burnout” an official medical diagnosis. Currently, the biggest barriers to treatment remain stigma, time, cost and availability. Many people wait weeks for a doctor’s appointment, provided they can even afford it. Others fear parking outside a therapist’s office, lest their neighbors see them. As such, both the public and private sectors increasingly look to advance solutions at scale. Silicon Valley, for example, released an impressive array of digital solutions to ensure more individuals receive discreet and flexible care. Nearly 10,000 mental health apps currently crowd the market, ranging from behavioral health coaching to meditation content. Affordable virtual therapy apps such as TalkSpace give patients the ability to call, text and video teleconference with professional counselors on their schedule, whereas chatbots serve as a listening friend on-demand. There are now wearables that monitor a user’s physiological signals throughout the day to prevent oncoming panic attacks. On the more experimental end, virtual reality is being used as an exposure therapy tool for PTSD survivors. Some start-ups are even going so far as to gamify mental wellness, a trend that’s seeing an uptick in younger demographics. Nearly a million people have played SuperBetter, an app in which players accrue points by persevering through stressful situations, completing breathing exercises and breaking bad habits. Mental health tech will move into the mainstream as cultural norms continue to shift. Industry analysts predict the next year will see a big spike in the adoption of telehealth, both in the mental healthcare space as well as primary care. Consumers’ embrace of convenient treatment as well as interest in self-care will transform how employers, universities and local governments offer subsidized mental wellness care. (5) Energy Medicine Gets Serious Think “energy medicine,” and you think wellness world: all those practices aimed at healing the human “energy body,” whether acupuncture, chakra balancing, reiki, crystal healing, etc.—often decried as “woo woo” wellness. Western medicine and ancient medicines (TCM, Ayurveda and Shamanic traditions) do take radically different approaches to healing: The former embraces the anatomical/biochemical model while the major indigenous medical systems independently devised healing approaches based on interventions in the body’s energy fields (whether “qi” in TCM or the doshas in Ayurveda). Despite polar-opposite approaches, traditional medicine and “ancient wellness” are now finding some common ground. Scientific researchers are discovering that the human body is indeed a complex biofield of electromagnetic frequencies and light waves that serve as control central for our physical and mental functioning—and that we’re also immersed in other complex environmental electromagnetic fields that change human cells. If medicine ignored the “energy body” for a century, new discoveries are shaking up entrenched thinking in biology. The future is the medical AND wellness worlds innovating new tools and technologies to optimize human energy fields to prevent illness and boost health. Frequency therapies are crucial here: electromagnetic, light and sound interventions. In medicine, electrifying new insights will keep coming around bioelectricity, the “organized lightning” that our cells use to grow and communicate. Michael Levin at Harvard’s Wyss Institute is just one top scientist uncovering the bioelectric “language” that cells use to coordinate everything from their own regeneration to cancer suppression. Biophotons are the light particles radiating from our cells that help regulate our biological systems—and the emerging field of Biophotonics will use coherent light (lasers, lighted crystals) to positively impact tissues and organs. New “optogenetic” tools are exciting neurons using light, allowing them to map the brain’s connections and activate brain circuits. Humans are increasingly bombarded by electromagnetic frequencies in our hyper-networked world, which will only surge with the next-gen cell network 5G, unleashing an unprecedented storm of high-energy photons through our dwellings and bodies. The science around cellphones’ impact on health is shrilly contradictory, but electromagnetic pollution will be the new public health issue. The future: solutions shielding us from the biophotonic blitz. Architects will design homes, schools and workplaces to maintain a healthy human energy field. Wellness resorts and real estate developers are already making moves: At Germany’s Villa Stephanie, a flick of a button copper-lines your room so electricity and Wi-Fi is blocked; Troon Pacific’s luxury homes have shielded cables in bedroom walls to block exposure to electromagnetic fields, and flipping lights off at night also means flipping off Wi-Fi. More wellness destinations will go “high energy”: serving up even more ancient energy medicines, more cutting-edge energy technologies, and more blending of both ancient and modern solutions. Six Senses Resorts’ “Grow a New Body” program—dubbed “neo-shamanism”—deploys many approaches to fix your energy body. On the modern side, energy-medicine evaluations with doctors, light therapies, altitude training, and ozone and oxygen therapies—while ancient shamanic approaches include mitochondria-boosting diets, fasting, plant medicine, and intensive spiritual work to clear negative emotions. Energy medicine is at a pivotal moment, with the medical world and “ancient wellness” finding some common—at least in principle—theoretical ground. Common ground leads to new conversations and solutions. “Energy futures” in health and wellness: a very strong “buy.” (6) Organized Religion Jumps into Wellness If going to church once meant dolling up in a dress to sit in a pew, today it might look more like wearing leggings for a HIIT-infused sermon. More and more, faith is incorporating the latest wellness trends, signifying a shift away from viewing bodywork as vanity. With interest in health and fitness at an all-time high, organized religion is reimagining age-old rituals and formats. For some churches, synagogues and mosques, this adoption simply reflects a desire to feel better and to take preventative health measures. Congregations no longer want to separate their physical and spiritual needs but instead, hope to fuse them together in novel new ways. This ranges from aerobic fitness classes to meditative retreats, all reworked with religious liturgy and biblical references. There are now boutique fitness studios solely devoted to worship or which cater to religious constraints. We see Ramadan bootcamps, Jewish Sabbath service hikes, Christian wellness retreats, Catholic Pilates classes and Muslim fitness YouTube channels. For other religious institutions, these new measures constitute a blatant appeal to younger worshippers, especially millennials. A 2018 Pew Research Center study found that adults under age 40 are far less likely to believe religion is “very important” in their lives than older groups. To make Sunday service more relevant, religious leaders add elements that speak to this demographic: meditation, nutrition, and connection to nature, among other interests. One Los Angeles synagogue offers a yoga class on Yom Kippur. This extends beyond brick-and-mortar. Groups also expand audiences through wellness apps and platforms. Faithful Workouts is an online Christian ministry of streaming workouts infused with sermons and Christian music, whereas Soultime is an app providing guided meditation through a religious lens. While the bulk of this trend depends on independent churches and start-ups, we’ll start to see megachurches, national religious organizations, and more influential leaders further embrace this trend. Many institutions now start to see health and wellness initiatives as a crucial part of tending to parishioners’ wellbeing. (7) The Wellness Sabbatical The current vacation model: work like mad and take a week of vacation where you’re supposed to totally switch off. A great model, but one that doesn’t work for many people anymore. As work has become “always-on,” more people aren’t taking their vacation days, and vastly more people are remote/independent workers with no formal vacation time. The reality: More people desperately need a profound wellness break, but they need to keep working. Shaming them for not taking vacations—or not totally unplugging when they do—feels naïve. Enter a new travel concept: the wellness sabbatical, where days of work and wellness are intentionally blended, at destinations that actively, creatively make this possible. On a wellness sabbatical, you’re set up to work a few productive hours a day (great workspaces, technology), but you also schedule a lot of daily wellness experiences (healthy food, movement, time in nature, sleep, human connection, etc.). And repeat, hopefully for a minimum of three weeks, that sweet spot to jumpstart lasting lifestyle changes and for a true mental reset. The time we dedicate to recharging has shrunk: from the three-week-long “taking a kur” common in Europe a few decades ago to that weekend wellness getaway. It’s time for the pendulum to swing longer, and the work+wellness sabbatical model makes it possible. Kamalaya in Thailand just unveiled a Wellbeing Sabbatical program, which (with a minimum 21-day stay) goes far deeper than a mere “recharge,” and where the comprehensive daily healing experiences (including personal mentoring) are flexibly designed around guests’ work schedules. Vana in India just unveiled its 30-day wellness sabbatical, where great technology and workspaces mean having that conference call after an appointment with a Tibetan Healing doctor. At Mexico’s Rancho La Puerta, execs are checking into casitas with private pools and offices to interweave a few hours of work each day with immersion in their 365-degree wellness offerings. We predict more top wellness resorts, typically designed around 1–2 week stays, will expand to 21-day, flexible work+wellness programs. And don’t fear, inexpensive, hip, wellness-sabbatical-enabling destinations are brewing, with the surge in co-living/co-working platforms for the digital nomad (that are increasingly serving up wellness programming)—whether Outsite or for-women Behere. Selina offers co-working/living and wellness at destinations from Portugal to Panama, where days are spent working, hanging with the tribe, surfing, doing yoga, etc.—and where wellness practitioners stay free for teaching. Creative models abound: At Gather in Israel, stay a month, work, and experience the “wellness kibbutz” lifestyle; Amble offers super-affordable, one-month nature sabbaticals for creative types at US National Parks. Why go home? Why have a home? Transformation comes from longer wellness experiences, but most of us have jobs. That’s the heartbeat of the wellness sabbatical, a concept we think will hit hundreds of destinations—and could shake up the future of travel, wellness and work. (8) The Fertility Boom Fertility is no longer a taboo topic hushed about in doctor’s offices. The last few years saw incredible progress in this space on multiple fronts. Celebrities and newsmakers ranging from Kim Kardashian to Mark Zuckerberg shared their personal experiences; numerous countries expanded their health coverage to include IVF; while Silicon Valley funded a number of start-ups attempting to solve every issue impacting fertility—for both men and women. These advancements couldn’t come sooner: Fertility has reached a crisis point across the globe. Highly industrialized countries such as England, Japan and the US continue to see record-low fertility rates, which will ultimately impact the future of the workforce. There are multiple reasons at play, but the most dominant one is that women of childbearing age delay having children. Not that they’re the sole party: Research shows that male sperm quality begins to decline at age 35, making men just as susceptible to a ticking biological clock. So, what does fertility care look like today? Nothing like your mother’s healthcare. The landscape is filled with apps, period trackers, platforms, and wearables that not only increase one’s chances of conceiving but even attempt to make it, well, enjoyable. Community support networks such as Peanut Trying to Conceive make it a less lonesome journey, while Tinder-like partner-matching app Just A Baby lets one swipe through potential baby daddies. Even the fertility clinic, once a dreaded place to get poked and prodded, has been transformed. A medley of newcomers reimagine IVF treatment, much like a spa experience—champagne, hors d’oeuvres, concierge service, and a decor that’s more akin to a fashion boutique. Trendy bicoastal US clinic Kindbody takes it one step further by taking the show on the road: It launched a roaming bus to conduct fertility tests and encourage young women to take family planning more seriously. Of course, treatments don’t come cheap. In the US, for example, the average couple can spend up to $60,000 for IVF treatment. Suck sticker shock inspired several start-ups specifically devoted to flexible financing services. Some of them are rather creative, ranging from a “fertility debit card” to financial plans for eager-to-be grandparents who can take a loan out on behalf of their adult children. So far, women’s health start-ups are believed to have secured over $1 billion in investment, and of that, 60 percent is focused on fertility or pregnancy. It’s just the start of what many see as a femtech revolution. (9) Wellness Music We all self-medicate through music, but most people don’t grasp just how powerful the medical evidence for music therapy is: Humans are hardwired for music; no other stimulus positively activates so many brain regions; and stringent studies show its dramatic impact on mood, anxiety and pain. If formal “music therapy” has always seemed a tad dowdy, now, suddenly, something big is happening. Music as an intentional therapy is being radically reinvented by new technologies. Music is emerging as one of the hottest trends in wellness, and wellness concepts are shaking up the massive music industry. “Wellness music” is being born, and the trend takes provocative forms. There’s a big uptick in scientific research identifying how music’s structural properties (such as beat, key, chord progression, etc.) specifically impact the brain and biometrics such as heart rate and sleep patterns—so evidence-based music and soundscapes can be developed as precision medicine. Music therapy’s potential is so immense that the NIH just awarded $20 million to fund a Sound Health Initiative to uncover music’s brain mechanisms and new applications to treat everything from PTSD to autism. That’s serious money for serious science. The trend is also being fueled by our exhaustion with visual culture and screens: More of us are retreating into music and sound, as evidenced by everything from the surge in podcast-listening to the rise of hip “vinyl listening bars.” The mainstream music industry is pivoting to “wellness music.” There’s an explosion of wellbeing playlists (stress-reducing, sleep-focused, etc.) at the big streaming sites such as Spotify. There’s big, new audiences for ambient and now actually cool “New New Age” music. Musical artists—from Erykah Badu and Jhene Aiko to bands such as Sigur Rós—are incorporating all kinds of wellness into their concerts, whether mass sound baths, meditation or aromatherapy. Full-blown audio-wellness festivals are rising. “Wellness” is becoming a new mode of listening—beyond the artist or genre. A fascinating development: the rise of “generative” music, with apps that pull your biological, psychological and situational data to create a tailor-made-for-you, always-changing soundscape—to improve your mental health any time you want to tune in. Berlin-based Endel is the headline-grabber, and their app deploys biometrics, AI and algorithms to create a personalized ambient wellness composition that just keeps blossoming as your bio and environmental input provides more data—whether you’re stressed in traffic or headed out for a run. At London’s wellness music sanctuary Wavepaths, founded by a neuroscientist and leading psilocybin researcher, you nest in an egg-pod, sensors gauge your biological and emotional states, and AI translates that data into a healing composition that courses through you via 21 surrounding speakers. (Music that simulates psychedelic experiences will rise.) Meditation apps are morphing into wellness music apps. New player Wave foregoes the old whispery, guided meditations for an all-wellness-music platform that, combined with its pulse-vibrating bolster, delivers multi-frequency meditation. Mega-meditation app Calm is evolving into a “wellness music” platform. Their incredibly popular “Sleep” channel features compositions by alt-rock stars such as Moby and Sabrina Carpenter designed to work as adult lullabies. In 2020, they’re working with famous artists—whether country or hip-hop stars—to create new, long-form “Calm” music for wellbeing (essentially becoming a wellness record label). We’ll see ear-opening, new music and sound experiences at travel destinations. Wellness resorts have launched so many sound baths, they’ve become a collective, mind-melting “Gong Show”—and the ancient sonic journeys aren’t going anywhere. More wellness studios, such as London’s Mind Like Water, will put rich menus of sound healing under one roof, whether Ayurvedic sound therapy massage or CBD sound journeys. Some really new acoustic experiences will hit wellness travel. “Deep listening” in noise-protected nature looks to be a fascinating development. In Amazon Awakenings’ “Let it Happen” trip, acoustical ecologist Gordon Hempton leads travelers on an “interactive sound journey” in the sonically stupendous Ecuadorean rain forest, at the first noise-pollution-free “Wilderness Quiet Park.” You learn to recover your lost animal-alert, 360-degree hearing, and practice “deep listening exercises” to identify the natural “drumbeats, violins, raindrops and choruses” around you. People will pit artist-created music against new, neuroscientist-designed wellness soundscapes. But this trend isn’t about giving up your Bob Dylan or Beyoncé fixes—it’s about seeing music’s health potential anew, with far more “wellness music” options: radical new technologies, experiments and experiences. (10) In Wellness We Trust: The Science Behind the Industry Wellness is by nature a consumer industry: It evolved to supplement what traditional medicine hasn’t tackled well, whether prevention, lifestyle change or mental wellness. But because it’s a hyper-consumer, largely unregulated, $4.5 trillion market, there’s been a storm of baseless claims about pseudo-scientific products and Instagram and celeb “wellness influencers” for hire. It’s one thing when a wellness approach has little benefit but does no harm—but when a “flat tummy tea” loaded with laxatives does real harm, the situation is serious. The industry has been ripe for more rigorous reckoning—whether through media criticism, internal company policing, new vetting and evidence platforms, or government regulation. And the time has come. Wellness watchdogs will rise, trying to re-establish some distinctions between legitimate wellness approaches and practitioners and charlatans who give wellness a bad name. People want help separating wheat from chaff, and more resources will help them do it. We’ll see more online call-out platforms, such as Instagram collective Estée Laundry, which goes after the false claims of influencers and brands in the beauty industry. (Online platforms that take on the wider wellness space are likely ahead.) We’ll see more vetting and certification sites such as UK-based WellSpoken, whose content tries to counter wellness pseudoscience and certifies brands. WellSet is trying to take on questionable wellness practices with a marketplace where people can find reputable local specialists. More companies will self-police, such as CVS Pharmacy’s recent “Tested to Be Trusted” initiative, which subjected all of its supplements and vitamins to third-party testing so what a customer sees on a label is what they get. Most people wouldn’t want the government regulating yoga or meditation, but we predict more governments will become bigger watchdogs of supplements and falsehood-in-wellness- marketing. While most governments (such as the US) don’t require that supplements have to work or even be safe, US Senator Richard Blumenthal recently went fast and furious after the makers of “flat tummy teas”—with legislative outcome. Ireland requires that wellness marketers’ online statements conform to the language requirements on EU nutrition and health claims. This fall, the US created firm standards for hemp and CBD production. There are tens of thousands of medical studies on wellness approaches, despite the fact that the wellness world isn’t on an even playing field, lacking the deep pockets of Big Pharma to conduct big trials among large populations over long periods of time. But there are resources to help you explore all the hard science: The just-upgraded wellnessevidence.com provides direct access to the universe of medical evidence (pro or con) for 28 wellness approaches—from acupuncture to yoga—at the top databases that doctors use: Cochrane, PubMed, TRIP—and also alternative medicine-focused Natural Standards. We’re in a wider cultural crisis now over fact and fiction; science and belief; and shrill opinion versus collective, consensual notions of reality and truth. We hope truth makes a comeback, and in wellness, more watchdogs will help. *Frost & Sullivan assessment for Casper, 2019
    • In English
    • Global News
    2020-01-31
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