The health and wellness industry will continue to evolve this year as people adopt lifestyle changes to maintain and improve their overall health. These trends are driven by the increasing availability of technology and knowledge-sharing on social media.
Furthermore, many startup companies and healthcare experts hope the wellness boom will supply the product demands and provide holistic approaches and new research to guide the journey to self-care and better well-being.
Here are health and wellness innovations and trends in 2023:
1. Virtual Fitness
Smart health and fitness technology will be at the forefront of health innovations in 2023. While wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers have been on the market for years, advancing technology has enabled new features to enhance the fitness experience.
These include virtual reality fitness apps that provide a more immersive environment to complete their workouts in an augmented and gamified approach. The virtual reality apps work with headset devices, including artificial intelligence-powered trainers for a personalized exercise routine.
The modern-day medical device design process ensures the tech can be synced with many VR tech apps for real-time health monitoring and feedback.
2. Micro Workouts
Finding time to commit to a training regimen can be challenging for individuals with busy working lifestyles. It may cause people to neglect or abandon their workout plans before completion.
Therefore, the micro workout trend aims to solve this issue by taking the time and dedication pressure of an exercise schedule and swapping it for a smaller amount of physical activity at various times.
The most common practice is doing low-to-moderate exercise two to three times per day for 15 minutes. Popular workouts include:
- Going for a brisk walk after lunch.
- Taking the staircase instead of an elevator or doing home sweeping.
- Doing a morning dance routine or squats after breakfast.
3. Sleep Syncing
The sleep syncing trend focuses on readjusting sleep schedules to align with the body's natural circadian rhythm. This process regulates the sleep cycle every 24 hours and is vital for everyday health and functioning. Thus, sleep syncing trains the body into a routine by sleeping and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays.
Eventually, the body gets used to the timetable, which may help individuals fall asleep and wake up without needing an alarm clock. This technique can result in better quality sleep and reduced symptoms of insomnia.
When starting the trend, many participants use tracking apps to monitor sleeping patterns at the initial stages, then go at it alone once the circadian rhythm is self-sustaining.
4. Medical Mushrooms
The growing popularity of mushrooms shows no signs of slowing down in 2023 as consumers become more aware of their health benefits. This versatile fungus contains many nutrients needed to sustain everyday health, including fiber, antioxidants, protein, and vitamins.
The latest catchphrase in this trend is 'mushroom stacking,' which refers to combining medical mushrooms with adaptogens to maximize their health gains. For instance, adding vitamin B3 to lion's mane, turkey tail, or reishi mushrooms is known to help improve energy, focus, memory, and cognition. These mushroom products include capsules, powders, edible chews, snacks, and drinks.
5. Sober Curious Drinking
Social media has been a driving factor in the sober curious and mindful drinking trend in 2023. It has encouraged individuals to share stories focusing on moderation and alternatives to alcohol in a 'fake drinking' scheme.
Bars and restaurants have accommodated the trend by updating menus to include innovative drinks like mocktails, herbs, and plant-infused alternatives like matcha and other adaptogenic beverages with little alcohol. The sober curious lifestyle aims to minimize the relationship with alcohol by reducing consumption considerably or forgoing drinking altogether while still enjoying a night out or festive event.
6. Facial Yoga
While facial yoga isn't new among health and wellness enthusiasts, it has recently enjoyed mainstream appeal due to social media sparking the trend. Similar to the full-body workout, facial yoga seeks to work out and massage muscles in the face to stimulate relaxation, reduce tension, and stimulate lymphatic drainage in the cheeks.
These yoga techniques use facial movements and repeated exercises, such as opening and closing the mouth widely, lifting the brows, and using a roller tool to create soothing effects. Face yoga apps make it easier to follow a daily routine. While the benefits of facial yoga differ slightly from lymphatic massage benefits, facial yoga is still an incredible way to relax and destress.
Conclusion
The top health and wellness trends and innovations to look out for in 2023 are shaped by advancing technology, social media knowledge sharing, and the prioritization of self-care lifestyles.
These include AI-supported virtual fitness, facial yoga, and micro workouts to stay physically active outside the usual time-focused approach and train muscles from face to feet. Then, mushroom stacking, sleep syncing, and drinking in moderation will be major health trends to improve energy and mental functioning.
