Study Suggests We Don’t Just Hear Music, but ‘Become It’ A 2025 study from McGill University shows our brain rhythms actually sync with sound to create emotion, movement and meaning–– shedding new light on the neuroscience of music and what makes music powerful. Our brain and body don’t just understand music, they physically resonate with it––and it shapes our sense of timing, musical pleasure and…
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…
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…
