When you’re striving to live better and healthier, it’s easy to be tempted by that new fancy health club, lured by the latest influencer endorsement, or tempted by quick-fix products! But some of the biggest – and best – wellness trends right now are a bit more back to basics. Here are our 5 favourite trends to get behind!
1. Wild swimming
Here in Sweden, wild swimming – and more specifically cold water swimming – is a fairly typical activity but it seems like now it’s taking off everywhere! The potential health benefits of cold water immersion need to be researched more, but the winning benefit for me is simply the way it makes me feel – so liberating! The other side of the coin however, is that it does place extreme stress on the cardiovascular system so it’s definitely not for everyone – start very slowly and don’t do it alone!
2. Virtual fitness
Online classes are such a great way to get your body moving and de-stress your day, especially if you work from home. What we love most though, is that there’s something for everyone – from gentle yoga to high octane cardio, from beginners to masterclasses. And with heaps of short, low cost – and even free – classes to be found, there really are no excuses to be a couch potato anymore!
3. Gut health
Gut health is something we’ve all become more mindful of in recent years and its importance goes way beyond our digestive health. Did you know that 70% of your immune system is found in the gut? That your gut is home to trillions of health-influencing bacteria? Or that there is a connection between the health of your gut and your mental health? Research is still in its early days but it’s pretty clear that caring for your gut is caring for your greater wellbeing so it gets a big thumbs up from us.
4. Breathing techniques
Breathing. We do it without thinking all day long. But what happens when we breathe consciously? Conscious breathing is an ancient practice you may be familiar with from yoga or meditation, but did you know you can use conscious breathing to help steer your day? From waking up and energising your day, to re-focusing between tasks, to relaxing and calming your mind at the end of the day, there’s a different technique for it! Research, using both self-evaluation as well as measurable paramaters like heart rate and cortisol levels, shows a correlation between deep breathing and stress reduction.
5. Good sleep
Maybe not very rock ‘n’ roll, but good sleep is absolutely vital for your overall health and wellbeing! We all know how different it feels to wake up from a good night rather than a bad night, right? Well it makes a difference in the long-term too. Research shows that getting at least 7 hours sleep is the optimum amount we should aim for – regularly getting less is linked with a wide range of health issues including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
