There are numerous pathways to mental wellness, many of which are known to us but often seem like an impossible to-do list. In GWI’s report Defining the Mental Wellness Economy, we segment them into four broad categories: 1) activity and creativity, 2) growth and nourishment, 3) rest and rejuvenation, and 4) connection and meaning. These domains have mind-body and internal-external dimensions, although their boundaries may…
C. Victor Brick, CEO of Planet Fitness Growth Partners and the founder of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation, on the Future of Wellness. C. Victor Brick has 35 years of success in the fitness industry and is CEO of Planet Fitness Growth Partners (PFGP), the largest privately owned Planet Fitness franchise with 80+ clubs in the US and Australia. He’s chairman of the…
Insufficient sleep (quantity and quality) is a global health epidemic that has serious public health and economic costs. To help tackle this crisis, the GWI has launched a Sleep Initiative, which will uncover the evidence-based strategies that contribute to restorative sleep and how to incorporate these into lifestyles, homes and hotels. The Initiative is co-chaired by Allison Howard, founder and CEO of Nollapelli, and Francisco…
COVID-19 is forcing us to see our homes, neighborhoods and our built environment in a new light. We know that COVID hospitalization and death risks are highly correlated with where we live and the corresponding socioeconomic conditions. Our homes may normally be sanctuaries where we can relax, sleep or entertain, but now they have also become our primary places of work, study, play, exercise, creativity…
The timing of the “end of COVID” will be a determining factor in the strength of the recovery. In the UK, the OECD country whose vaccine rollout is so far the most advanced, the Prime Minister’s roadmap expresses the hope that if all goes to plan, June will see a “return to normal.” For reasons on which we expand in our recent book, COVID-19: The…
At its essence, physical activity is about movement. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines physical activity as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure – including activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuit.” The benefits of physical activity are varied, widely proven, and well-known, including: preventing chronic disease, reducing stress, managing weight, strengthening…
