It is a new decade, and if you haven’t noticed, health, fitness and well-being is all the rage right now. With social media and technology growing so rapidly, change is happening faster than ever! It didn’t take much research to find a long list of health trends and new things to try out this year, below are some that made almost every list.
Many have adopted self-care as a lifestyle. We are becoming more aware of the importance of taking care of ourselves. More are adopting better sleep habits, like no screen time an hour before bedtime or are setting a consistent sleep schedule. People are learning how being mindful, keeping journals, or that meditation can help you relax and clear your mind. More of us are focusing on mental health. Seeing a therapist when you’re struggling is no longer unmentionable. There are even unlimited amounts of self-help podcasts, videos, and apps at our fingertips. The goal is to put yourself first and to find ways to eliminate anxiety, to seek help when needed, and to avoid things that hold us back from realizing our potential and being happy.
Binge drinking is becoming a thing of the past. There has been a growing trend of improving health and well-being, which is influencing people to cut back on their drinking. “Dry January” is more popular than ever and many of us are opting for mocktails or lower alcohol beverages over regular cocktails.
We are learning to unplug. Over the last decade, we have struggled terribly with putting our phones away and dedicating more time to ourselves, friends, and loved ones. Now that concentrating on health and wellness is a growing trend, we are beginning to take into consideration how much using social media and always having our phones at arm’s reach is impacting us. Some are even beginning to set goals or to reduce time spent on smartphones and other digital devices that keep us indoors. We are getting outside into nature again, exercising more, and nurturing relationships with those that really matter.
Post-workout muscle recovery and improving healing is gaining popularity. Foam rolling after exercise and post-workout massages are becoming increasingly popular. Both are said to help decrease feelings of delayed onset muscle soreness while speeding muscle recovery. Other therapies are used to improve healing, like acupuncture, cryotherapy, ice, cold baths, Epsom salt baths, and gentle stretching. Pre-workout & post-workout nutrition is also being used to help reduce the severity of muscle soreness. Ideal Protein even introduced the amazing Branched Chain Amino Acids last year, which help stimulate the building of protein in muscle and reduce muscle breakdown/soreness.
Health care and data is at our fingertips. Smart watches, sleep trackers, activity trackers are still trending, and the technology is getting more affordable and accessible. Amazon’s Alexa and Google Echo are being used to deliver telehealth care to seniors. There are apps for everything: health-monitoring apps, fitness apps, and more! We can even visit doctors on-line; by using smartphone apps and/or video conferencing platforms, doctors can connect with patients and diagnose them. These markets are booming and continue to grow.
The Zero Waste movement keeps growing. The goal is to create as little garbage as possible. More and more people are concerned about the environment and are choosing to ditch plastic, carrying reusable water bottles, eliminating single-use plastic straws or packing their own utensils. Composting is also becoming increasingly popular. It can divert up to 30% of household waste away from the garbage can, how cool is that?
References:
Eartheasy.com
nbcnews.com
