Smartphones, AI and Rising Unwellness By Thierry Malleret, economist Malleret discusses NYU Professor Arpit Gupta’s recent argument for “the smartphone (and social media) theory of everything.” Put simply, he posits that the widespread use of smartphones and social media (that began around 2011) are a major cause of unhappiness in individuals and larger problems across society. The fact that so many observable negative trends began…
New Global Flourishing Study: Indonesia & Mexico Rank Highest The headline-grabbing World Happiness Report is based on a single question put to people in 164 countries: how do you rate your life satisfaction on a scale of one to ten? Northern European nations––Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, etc.––always ranks highest for happiness. The new “Global Flourishing Study” gathers more multidimensional wellbeing data on 200,000-plus people in…
Wellness Tourism Provides Unique Benefits for Local Communities By Tonia Callender, GWI research fellow While political and economic uncertainty are influencing tourism flows, analysts predict a rise in global tourism visits this year.1 The seasonal influx of visitors provides jobs and revenues for businesses and communities, but the volume of visitors can also pose threats to the local environment and the quality of life for…
Touch, our most complex sense, is a landscape of cellular sensors–Quanta Every soft caress of wind, searing burn and seismic rumble is detected by our skin’s complex tangle of touch sensors. David Ginty, head of the neurobiology department at Harvard Medical School, has spent his career cataloging the neurons beneath everyday sensations. His work has given him a deeper appreciation of this sense we so…
Cold Plunges Produce Cellular Changes, Improving Autophagic Function Linked to Longevity A small 2024 study from the University of Ottawa (ten young males) closely examined how seven days of one-hour cold plunges affected cells at the molecular level, looking at its impact on autophagy (the body’s cleaning out of damaged components) and apoptosis (programmed cell death). They found that repeated cold exposure significantly enhanced autophagic…
The Silver Tsunami Making Healthy Aging an Economic Imperative By Thierry Malleret, economist The world is aging at an historic rate: By 2050, there’ll be more than twice as many people aged 65-plus as children under five and seniors will represent 16% of the global population, up from 10% in 2022. With aging, of course, comes disabilities and chronic disease. The only way to prevent…
