First Research on the Mental Wellness Economy Released Monday

The Global Wellness Institute is the research organization renowned for sizing and analyzing the sectors across the global wellness economy and known for its wellness industry bubble chart. On Monday, a new “bubble” will be born when the GWI releases the first research on the dynamic, multi-sector mental wellness economy at the Global Wellness Summit. While mental wellness is a market seeing explosive growth (dramatically…

Wellness Evidence Study: An “Awe Walk” Boosts Mental Wellbeing

A new study from the University of California, San Francisco found that people consciously aware of the vistas and objects around them on a walk—researchers call these “awe walks”—reported being more hopeful and upbeat than walkers who did not. Study participants were older men and women, and one group was instructed on how to cultivate awe (i.e., look at the world with fresh, childlike eyes)…

CB Insights’ “State of Wellness 2020” Report: The Investment & Sector Trends to Watch

CB Insights, a major tech industry analyst, recently released a report on global wellness investment trends for the first half of 2020. It paints a picture of which tech-enabled wellness solutions are rising fastest in the wake of coronavirus, including business models focused on mental health/wellness, fitness, women’s health, sleep, beauty and personal care, and new wellness platforms for parents and kids. A few key…

Inequality Damages Collective Wellbeing and Kills People’s Motivation to Work

Culture—a defining element for containing the pandemic—explains why East Asian nations (where community acts as a collective agent for the common good) have done much better than individualistic countries characterized by a “to each his/her own” mentality. The reason is the following: the lower the level of social cohesion (or the higher the level of social inequality), the stronger the incentive for individuals to compete…

GWI Releases Physical Activity Market Reports for Six Global Regions

The Global Wellness Institute just released reports on the physical activity and fitness economies for six world regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America-Caribbean, Middle East-North Africa, North America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each report is packed with data on consumer participation rates and market sizes for all six industry segments: 1) sports and active recreation; 2) fitness and gyms; 3) mindful movement; 4) equipment and supplies; 5)…

Wellness Evidence Study: Kundalini Yoga Found Positive for Anxiety Disorder

A new randomized clinical trial from Harvard Medical School and Boston University (published in JAMA Psychiatry) compared a 12-week program of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Kundalini yoga (which involves traditional yoga components, breathwork and meditation) against a stress education control group, for people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). They found that CBT was still the best first-line treatment, but that the yoga regime also…