We all want to be healthy. For some, this can mean a balanced diet and regular exercise. 

For others, it can mean ice baths, penis facials and cow cuddling. Our ever-evolving technology means health perceptions are constantly adapting. Hence the multitude of wellness trends popping up quicker than… toast? Moving on. Let’s look at what the Global Wellness Summit (GWS) predicts for health in 2020. 

The GWS is the top dog when it comes to forecasting global wellness trends. They predict based on the perspectives of experts worldwide, including economists, academics, futurists and the CEOs of international corporations from all related fields within the $4.5 trillion wellness economy. Let’s look at three of their predicted trends. I promise they’re not as absurd as penis facials. Yes, that’s actually a thing. 

Sleep and the Circadian rhythm.

2019 was the year of sleep obsession. From “sleep ice-cream” to nap pods, to sleeping with robots to lashing out on the smartest mattress and pillow. Yet around 1 in 10 people still have sleep insomnia. In 2020, we focus less on sleep aids and more on our circadian rhythm, ensuring we see the light during the day and go into sleep mode as the sun goes down. It is the year we turn off the lightbulb. Dr Steven Lockley, associate professor of medicine at Harvard and one of the world’s top experts on circadian rhythms and sleep says, “The absolute key to healthy sleep and circadian rhythms is stable, regularly-timed daily light and dark exposure—our natural daily time cues.” This would be a lot easier if we still lived in caves and didn’t have power. As this is not the case, (thank god), people will switch up their home lighting to app controlled LED tuneable lights that automatically adjust day and night, from bright, blue-light in the day to dim red, yellow and orange color spectrums (think: campfire) at dusk—which boosts melatonin. 

The boom of the baby boomer campaign.

Did you see that 70-year-old woman kill it in that Adidas campaign? Said no one ever. These days, retirees are running marathons, yet this demographic only receives 10 per cent of marketing. In 2020, multiple health and fitness industries making the change, targeting seniors with their campaigns. Financially, this makes sense considering the 60+ population is rising rapidly, and they are now the fastest-growing membership group. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts they will nearly double by 2050 from 12 per cent to 22 per cent. According to The International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association, those aged 55 and up compose nearly a quarter of all US health club members. Ken Smith, director of the Mobility Division at the Stanford Center on Longevity, says “There isn’t a good embedded sense of the capability of older people,” says Smith. “Big companies are just starting to figure it out.”

Wellness music.

Humans are hardwired for music. Studies have well and truly proven that no other stimulus positively activates so many regions of the human brain (from the amygdala to the hippocampus)—with unique powers to boost mood and memory. No wonder we feel so good after we bless our ears with a little Beyoncé. This year, we won’t just listen to music as therapy, music will be intentionally created as medicine. Expect an explosion of healing playlists and popular musicians incorporating all kinds of wellness experiences into their concerts. There will also be a rise in AI-powered music apps that pull your biological, psychological and situational data to create an utterly unique, custom-made-for-you, always-changing soundscape—to improve your mental and physical health any time you want to tune in. 

Essentially, wellness in 2020 is a pretty picture. We can look forward to adjustable lights, seeing grandparents in activewear and custom made music. Is there anything more exciting than wellness ingenuity? I don’t think so.