In this short piece (you can read it in three minutes!), a professor of cognitive science explains that when we interact with “friends” on social networking sites or through texting, “it can feel like we’re getting quality social contact, but we are not.” Research shows face–to–face interaction with other people—real people, right in front of us—is absolutely vital for longevity and happiness. In fact, it is a larger contributor than both exercise and diet.
Briefing paper: The Wellness Market in Japan
It’s no surprise technology goes hand-in-hand with most everything in Japan and that includes wellness. Wellness apps, such as yoga and meditation apps, are highly recommended adjuncts to a guest’s wellness program in Japan. And, in anticipation of hosting the 2020 Olympics, has put a sharper focus on wellness tourism, including the country’s extensive hot springs and forests, where stress-relieving forest therapy is growing in popularity.
Mediterranean Diet Helps Mitigate Cognitive Decline, Memory Loss
While there’s much observational evidence that correlates improved mental abilities with healthy dietary practices, a newly released clinical, randomized study provides scientific backup. Sponsored by the Spanish government and conducted by the University of Barcelona over a four–year period on 477 cognitively healthy adults (55–80 years of age) revealed that subjects following a Mediterranean-type diet, supplemented with nuts and olive oil, showed lower rates of decline in cognitive functioning than subjects who followed a simple low-fat diet. Reduced risks of dementia were also noted. Dr. Emilio Ros, who led the study, attributes this in part to the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents found in the supplements that have been long–suspected to improve cognitive abilities
What’s on My Mind: A Future Trend Getting Ready to Explode
Literally and metaphorically, a light went on for me last week. I had the privilege of attending an event hosted by Lighting Science, a company devoted to marshaling light to work with our bodies, not against them. Fred Masik, the company founder, Dr. Michael Bruce, a sleep expert, and Dr. Smith Johnston, a flight surgeon working with NASA, presented on the panel.
Help Wanted! 600,000 Global Spa Employees Needed
Recent Global Wellness Institute (GWI) research found the global spa industry grew from a $60 billion market to a $94 billion market between 2007-2013. And big growth, of course, means way more employees needed. This same research also found if the worldwide spa industry employed 1.9 million people in 2013, a projected 2.7 million people will be needed in 2018—or 42 percent growth across those five years.
See which global regions will create the most new spa jobs through 2018—and just how many trained spa therapists and experienced spa managers/directors will be (desperately) needed.
Wellness is Surging. Yet record numbers are “Totally Sedentary”
Economist Thierry Malleret has often analyzed the connection between a world marked by rapid-fire, confusing change, leading to a “mounting sense of uneasiness,” and the surge in the wellness industry. Because when there’s much economic and social adversity, many people strive even harder to live a more fulfilling, meaningful life.
This week he looks at that trend hitting “reverse” in the U.S.: explaining how the number of Americans (a staggering 28 percent of the population) report they were “totally sedentary” in the last year—the highest number recorded in 24 years.
So, if the wellness trend overall is being ignited by global fragility, it’s apparently not a trend embraced by all.
