Laughter may be effective medicine for these trying times —New York Times, October 2, 2020 Some enlightened doctors, nurses and therapists have a prescription for helping all of us to get through this seemingly never-ending pandemic: Try a little laughter. Studies show laughter releases nitric oxide, which reduces blood pressure, and people who laugh more have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and live longer.…
The 2020 Global Wellness Summit (GWS), being held November 8–11 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, will have an unprecedented focus on the tech innovations that are shaking up the wellness market. The GWS just announced the Call for Wellness Innovations contest, calling on all companies within the wellness technology space to submit their innovative ideas. Unlike other competitions, it will be judged by a heavy-hitter…
Are mushrooms the future of wellness?–New York Times, September 18, 2020 No, not another article on the booming magic mushroom research and market, but rather how that vast “other” world of fungi—whether reishi, lion’s mane or chaga—is one of the biggest trends in wellness. Eastern cultures and medical systems (including TCM and Ayurveda) have long used mushrooms to boost health, and this looks at key…
Next week, the GWS holds a Wellness Master Class with Amrutha Shridhar, research consultant at Euromonitor International, on how health and wellness behaviors and desires are now changing for different generations. Shridar will present on new trends, such as the blurring of categories and competitors within the health and nutrition industries, drawing on insights from Euromonitor’s 2020 Health and Nutrition survey. Any company that wants…
Funding for mental health-focused startups rises in 2020–TechCrunch, August 26, 2020 This is a summary of research group CB Insights’ recent analysis of venture capital funding trends for wellness-focused start-ups. While in the tough economic climate of the pandemic, sleep and fitness tech saw fewer deals and dollars in the first half of 2020 than they did at the same time last year, one sector…
Air pollution is much worse than we thought–VOX, August 12, 2020 The pandemic has reignited public interest in this issue: Not only does air pollution kill many people around the world, but it also exposes them to a greater risk of catching COVID-19 and dying from it. New research reveals that the effects of air pollution are roughly twice as bad as previously estimated. “It would,…
