MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION The age of digital authoritarianism and the reign of techno-autocrats are upon us. China is leading the way with their new “Social Ranking” Initiative, tracking people’s behavior (such as their health/fitness) and rewarding and punishing with things such as access to healthcare or government services. But eventually all countries will follow suit with different degrees of intensity: If (or when)…
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION Monthly Barometer No more beating about the bush: Climate change is a risk like no other, and it’s accelerating. (1) A spate of recent research concludes that greater severity and intensity of extreme weather with its second-round effects (such as rising waters) is not only happening but on the increase. (2) Two central bank governors just called on financial regulators,…
7 Ways to Age Well in 2019 — The New York Times, December 24, 2018 Different contributors from the “Well” section of the NYT offer advice on what research can teach us about living longer and better (or just looking younger!). It ranges from exercising often (at least four times a week) to slowing the decline of aging with simple but smart choices related to the…
The recent suicides of two celebrities—the fashion designer Kate Spade and the chef, author and TV host Anthony Bourdain—have drawn attention to new federal data showing a rise in the number of suicides across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates rose by 25 percent between 1999 and 2016. In 2016, 45,000 Americans aged 10 or older…
In past Briefs, we’ve discussed the critical importance of sleep for wellbeing (and conversely of the way in which sleep deprivation negatively impacts mental and physical health). In our real-time economy, where consumer businesses strive to meet the 24-hour demand for their services and manufacturers, the number of people working night shifts is increasing and, with this, so is the number of aggregate sleepless nights.…
The GWI’s Digital Wellness Initiative just released a new research paper: Wellness in the Age of the Smartphone. The authors, leaders from medicine, hospitality, economics and technology, examine the mounting research on how technology is negatively impacting sleep, obesity, mental health, relationships, safety and productivity. Smartphones may only be a decade old, but their increasingly profound impact on human life and culture, they argue, needs to be a greater research and policy focus. They suggest ways forward…
