The Future of Wellness: Top Trends in 2023

The wellness industry continues to grow as consumers prioritize experiences and products that improve their overall health and well-being. In 2023, we can expect to see a focus on preventative health, female-specific treatments, recovery, outdoor fitness, and design that promotes emotional well-being.

Female Focused

Less than 2.5% of publicly funded research is currently devoted to female health.

The UK healthcare system has been designed around the needs of just half the population. Men have historically been treated as the default patient in clinical practice and medical research, and women’s health and healthcare needs have been marginalised. With this in mind, women are likely to be mis-diagnosed or not have access to suitable tests, treatments, and medicines rapidly enough. To lessen the chances of early death in women and improve the quality of life of those affected by menopause-related diseases, companies will need to crate female specific treatments, programmes or packages.

Recovery

The International Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed literature that found whole-body cryotherapy reduced muscle pain by 80% with multiple exposures leading to improvements in loss of muscle function and inflammation markers.

A growing emphasis is being placed on how what you do outside of the gym is just as important as time spent sweating and racking up reps. There's now a growing trend for supercharging rest days with dedicated gym classes, treatments such as cryotherapy and infrared sauna, gadgets and techniques designed to help professional and amateur athletes recover better and faster.

Preventative Health

The global market for preventive healthcare (technologies and services) is estimated to attain $345 billion by 2029, expanding at a CAGR of 9.6% over the forecast period, driven by government initiatives and support, coupled with growing public awareness.

As science and technology continue to evolve at a rate faster than ever before, with previously unimaginable advances in the fields developing, the life expectancy for people is continuing to increase with a huge focus on preventative health care.

Wellbeing in Design

World Architecture Day 2022 was themed around “Architecture for well-being”, paralleling the designation of 2022 as the UIA Year of Design for Health in buildings and cities, a trend that is set to last well into this year.

Studies demonstrate a connection between design and physical health and wellbeing, inspiring a trend for architecture and design that takes its emotional impact into account. Factors such as daylight, colour, acoustics, indoor air quality and scents are all relevant, and increasingly considered in luxury spaces. Design has a profound impact on a hotel guest experience, from the moment they enter until long after they depart evoking emotions and leaving a lingering impression.

Outdoor Gyms

Pure Gym found that last year saw an increase of almost 50% on outdoor fitness and this is set to continue to grow in 2023.

Avoiding busy gyms and embracing the great outdoors is a trend that is expected to continue into this year. Hiking is set to soar in popularity and experiencing nature, fresh air and views is key for mental wellbeing, a huge priority for many this year. 

East Meets West

Many prestigious medical centres including Mayo Clinic, University of California San Francisco, and Duke University Medical Centre now offer Oriental medicine and other complementary and alternative medicine treatments to their patients.

For centuries, medicine, wellness, and health have been clearly divided into two schools of thought: Eastern and Western. As acupuncture, turmeric, probiotics and yoga become part of our daily routines we’re bridging the gap between Eastern modalities and Western medicine to optimize personal health and wellbeing routines.