How The Wellness Trend is Evolving

We look at some of the key takeaways for the home improvement industry from the annual Global Wellness Summit (GWS)

The summit which took place in October 19 at the Grand Hyatt Singapore is an invitation-only gathering which brings together an international group of leaders and visionaries with the aim to positively impact and shape the future of the $4.5 trillion global wellness economy

At each annual Summit, delegates are challenged to look at the way business is done and to create new, collaborative models for the future by establishing a high-level dialogue among the decision-makers in attendance and by giving delegates the first look at the future of evidence-based wellness and the latest innovations in the industry.

According to the follow-up report from the Summit, wellness currently reflects the needs of an ageing population. Wanting to look and feel better is no longer just for millennials – longer lifespans place middle age at around the 50-year-old mark, and the older generation is adopting healthy habits too.

This means that the market is shifting, and the 60+ generation is becoming a powerful demographic when it comes to wellness products.

However, the wellness market as a whole is evolving. The report highlights that our attachment to our screens and inability to switch ‘off’ is affecting us on a profound level, and leading us to seek wellness solutions that act as an antidote to this stress. A new connection between music and wellness is gaining ground, as is wellness and mental health, and wellness and fertility, and the idea that wellness can counteract the effects of overwork.

One of the major wellness trends coming to the fore focuses on sleep. From mattresses that are said to aid sleep, through to apps that help beat insomnia and wearable tech that assesses the quality of your sleep, we have become fairly sleep obsessed. The report states that one of the reasons that this has become such a contemporary problem is the fact that we are glued to bright screens, which could have the effect of placing our brains in the kind of alert state associated with daylight hours.

Circadian lighting solutions that mimic the natural arc of the sun, with nuanced lighting changes throughout the day, are among the latest wellness products to come to market to combat this phenomenon. These aim to patch in to the natural rhythms in our brains – our inner body clocks – to trigger the brain’s natural response to the sunset.

Interest in circadian health and solutions claiming to reset circadian rhythms through diet or lighting is growing, and the report anticipates that this will initially make its way into the travel market as a trend before it is adopted more generally.

Sleep health has moved up the wellness agenda and according to Mintel, it is now beginning to be viewed as the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. While previously sleep got in the way of work, and work was viewed as the priority, there is now a shift and a relentless work schedule is perceived as a negative rather than a positive. It is now generally regarded as necessary to take some form of wellness sabbatical to avoid burnout and regroup, and maintain a work-versus-wellness balance.

Why does this matter?

With much of the population now working away from an office environment, and a growing trend for spending more time at home, these shifts are bound to have an impact on our living environments. And from dimmable circadian lighting systems, to therapeutic music in every room, the demand for wellness products that counteract the effects of our hectic lifestyles will continue to rise until we master the art of switching off ourselves.