Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Oct. 25th, 2023)

Why are we so bad at getting better? We must re-embrace convalescence–The New Yorker, October 18, 2023  Convalescence used to be central to medicine. Now we don’t talk about it. After an infection, a surgery, or even a panic attack, people rush back to daily life at half strength, feeling they need “permission to recover,” and neglecting the sleep, rest and follow-up care that could…

Gallup Research Finds Strong Association between Religion/Spirituality and Wellbeing

Gallup Research Finds Strong Association between Religion/Spirituality and Wellbeing  The global mental health crisis is relentless and yet the relationship between mental wellbeing and spirituality and religion has been largely underexplored. New Gallup research (based on poll data in 152 countries and interviews with 1.5 million people) sought to shine some new light. It revealed a strong association between the importance of religiosity/spirituality in people’s…

Sitting All Day Increases Dementia Risk—Even If You Work Out

A 2023 study published in JAMA used data from roughly 50,000 UK adults aged 60+ who wore activity trackers to minutely record their movement (and lack thereof) throughout the day. They then used AI to interpret the results and tracked people’s medical status over the next seven years. They found a very strong correlation between long hours of sitting and dementia: Those who sat at…

Unhappiness at Work Is Rising: An Employee Wellbeing Roadmap for Wellness Companies

Unhappiness at Work Is Rising: An Employee Wellbeing Roadmap for Wellness Companies   By Thierry Malleret, economist So many new surveys indicate that unhappiness at work has never been such a problem. Macro stressors—from the cost-of-living crisis (notably in Europe) to uncertainty about working from home—are taking a toll on employee wellbeing. Some industries have happier employees than others, like non-profits, perhaps thanks to the sense…