Must Reads from the Wellness World (August 30th, 2023)

The next frontier for corporate benefits: menopause–The New York Times
In an effort to attract and retain experienced women, more companies are adding menopause-specific care to their benefits packages. Providers of corporate menopause support services say uptake has been fast. Peppy, a UK telehealth company, offers menopause support in workplaces and launched in the US this year. US healthcare benefits provider Maven provides employees with app-based telehealth access to menopause specialists and therapists, and it has become their fastest selling product ever. Women who will go through menopause over the next five to ten years will not accept the lack of support, and the silence around the issue, the way their mother’s generation did.

How fake science sells wellness–The New York Times
Coming out of the pandemic, consumers are prioritizing evidence. This article explores how that has entailed a rise in even greater “scienceploitation” in the wellness market. Brands are borrowing language from emerging areas of science to market unproven products. Three key tactics are: 1) jam-packed ingredient lists, 2) vague terms like “boosts” and “supports,” and 3) questionable and cherrypicked studies. This article gives advice on how to better assess a wellness product’s claims.

The rediscovery of circadian rhythms–Noéma
The suprachiasmatic nucleus is the master timekeeper of our entire human body, acting like “a musical conductor: when the symphony is playing in unison, the harmonious uplift in focus, memorization, physical performance, immunity and restful sleep is profound.” New findings from circadian science have given rise to chrono-design, chronotherapy, chrono-ethics, and more, showing that our interest in circadian rhythms has reached new heights. This is helping some of us lead more balanced, productive and longer lives. But will it lead to needed societal change?

Social media-driven overtourism: Stop trying to have the perfect vacation. You’re ruining everyone else’s–Vox
How TikTok and Instagram are ruining people’s vacations. The reason: entitlement and endless optimization have turned holidaying into an “unfun blood sport.” Some are even letting ChatGPT plan their vacations, referencing every possible available recommendation and “best of” list and cobbling together a bulletproof itinerary. It all ends the same, with thousands of people doing the same things, in the same places, at the same time. There is now too much information and the great symbols of internet-driven overtourism (Dubrovnik, Venice, and the like) have become a nightmare. The most common and egregious problem? Tourists believing the locals should be grateful they’re there.

A Striking Stat:
The average person on the planet loses 2.2 years of life expectancy from exposure to the type of particulates in wildfires.

Source: University of Chicago, 2023