A prediction: The endless increase in healthcare costs means medical tourism will skyrocket in coming years. Read about how (and why) Central and Eastern Europe are currently big winners with this trend, and just how fast outbound Chinese medical tourism is growing!
Study: Lack of Sleep Creates “Sleepy” Brain Cells
A new study (UCLA, Tel Aviv Univ., etc.) indicates that when people don’t get enough sleep, their brain cells quite literally slow down. Researchers found sleep deprivation means that the bursts of electrical activity that brain cells use to communicate become slower and weaker, which can lead to mental lapses that affect not only perception but also memory.
Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of November 20, 2017)
“Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better” – World Economic Forum, November 11, 2017
The Danish MP, who’s played a vital role in shaping her country’s environmental policies, exposes her vision of the future. Information is free, shopping is dead, and robots and AI take over big parts of our jobs, obliging us to rethink our model of growth. Hence, our close relationship with nature is back: walking, biking, cooking, drawing and growing plants reemerge! She’s a voice worth heeding because Denmark is pioneering this future.
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION: GDP and Wellness are Bad Bedfellows
GDP and wellness make for bad bedfellows: measurements of economic growth/GDP only account for our “busyness,” or the more hours worked, the more GDP growth. The problem is working too hard entails decreasing rates of return (fewer units of GDP per extra hour worked) and causes endless suffering. By contrast, things that make us well (being with friends, exercising, etc.) contribute to people’s wellness, but not GDP. Where is the middle ground?
Read more for Malleret’s prediction: Wellness in the future will be simpler, less fancy and less expensive.
Wellness Investors: The Future is Outdoor Exercise & Reconnecting People with Nature
Ours are paradoxical times: on average globally, we’ve never had it so good (life expectancy, income per capita, etc.) and yet addiction, depression, anxiety and suicide rates are all up. The
scientific explanation: we produce too much dopamine (the instant “reward” neurotransmitter, whether delivered through sugar or social media) and not enough serotonin (the “contentment” neurotransmitter). We confuse pleasure and happiness.
Read more about how this leads to a prediction that people’s desire to reconnect with nature (at wellness retreats, etc.) and to exercise outside will grow powerfully.
Video: How to Really Help People Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
The recent Global Wellness Summit featured a historic line-up of integrative medical pioneers from Dr. Oz to Dr. Dean Ornish. Watch Dr. Andrew Weil’s keynote on how we can actually start helping people make healthy lifestyle choices – despite a sad lack of focus on prevention by insurers.
