GWI Blog - Page 185 of 251 - Global Wellness Institute

Will More Wellness Brands Start Taking a Political Stance?

An issue to watch in 2018 is whether more wellness-associated brands will have to enter politics and thus risk becoming embroiled in tricky partisan issues. Recent example: Patagonia, the iconic outdoor U.S. retail brand (embodying many qualities associated with well-being) recently filed a lawsuit against the current U.S. Presidential administration after it removed federal protection on two million acres of national parks land – and other companies have also taken sides on the issue.

These are challenging times for wellness brands. “Staying outside of politics” may be their favoured option, but it’s likely that they’ll increasingly be forced to take a stance and manage it from a reputational perspective…

Video: Telomere Length is Predictive of Disease – What Can We Do to Change Them?

At the recent Global Wellness Summit, Elissa Epel, PhD, Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, analysed the latest from telomere science: those caps at the end of our DNA whose shortening is causally predictive of disease and aging. What forces negatively impact our telomeres? And what can we do to lengthen them? Learn how everything from adversity in pregnancy, chronic stress, lack of social connection, poor sleep, and diets high in meat are associated with shorter telomeres.

Study: Children Who Eat Fish Score Higher on IQ Tests & Sleep Better

A new study (led by Univ. Of Pennsylvania researchers) indicated that children who eat fish score higher on IQ tests and sleep better. Studying Chinese children aged 9-11, it found that kids who ate fish twice a week or more scored an average of 4.8 points higher on IQ tests than those who ate it twice a month or less.

Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of January 3, 2018)

“Sonic Tonic” (Why Nature Sounds Manage Sleep & Stress) – MotherBoard, December 4, 2017
Millions of people in cities rely on recorded nature sounds to manage sleep and stress. Scientists now understand why it works, and one reason is the fact that sounds of nature have a unique ability to promote our “rest and digest” state – while artificial sounds prompt sympathetic arousal.

Must-Reads from the Wellness World (December 22, 2017)

Wellness Trends 2018. The wellness trends forecasts are rolling in… (The Global Wellness Summit’s will be released January 24.)

Well-being Apps Imprison Us in Private Emotional Experience – The Wrong Approach

The issue of how technology affects human wellness is reaching crisis proportions, as academic research conclusively demonstrates that the overconsumption of technology/social media is detrimental to mental health. And technology that tries to boost well-being – like most wellness/happiness apps – may do more harm than good by locking us up in private emotional experience rather than helping us connect with people.